路不拾遺

Chinese

		road; path; way	not; no	pick up; ten (fraud-proof)	to lose; to leave behind
trad. (路不拾遺)		路	不	拾	遺
simp. (路不拾遗)		路	不	拾	遗
Literally: “Passers-by see lost items on the road but do not take them as their own”.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): lùbùshíyí

  (Zhuyin): ㄌㄨˋ ㄅㄨˋ ㄕˊ ㄧˊ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): lou⁶ bat¹ sap⁶ wai⁴

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: lùbùshíyí
    • Zhuyin: ㄌㄨˋ ㄅㄨˋ ㄕˊ ㄧˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: lùbùshíhyí
    • Wade–Giles: lu⁴-pu⁴-shih²-i²
    • Yale: lù-bù-shŕ-yí
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: luhbushyryi
    • Palladius: лубушии (lubušii)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /lu⁵¹⁻⁵³ pu⁵¹ ʂʐ̩³⁵ i³⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: lou⁶ bat¹ sap⁶ wai⁴
    • Yale: louh bāt sahp wàih
    • Cantonese Pinyin: lou⁶ bat⁷ sap⁹ wai⁴
    • Guangdong Romanization: lou⁶ bed¹ seb⁶ wei⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /lou̯²² pɐt̚⁵ sɐp̚² wɐi̯²¹/

Idiom

路不拾遺

1. Used to describe good social ethos.

   • 兩川之民，忻樂太平，夜不閉戶，路不拾遺。 [Written Vernacular Chinese, trad.]
     两川之民，忻乐太平，夜不闭户，路不拾遗。 [Written Vernacular Chinese, simp.]

     From: Romance of the Three Kingdoms, circa 14^th century CE

     Liǎng chuān zhī mín, xīn yuè tàipíng, yèbùbìhù, lùbùshíyí. [Pinyin]

     (please add an English translation of this usage example)

   • 因為他辦強盜辦的好，不到一年竟有路不拾遺的景象。 [Written Vernacular Chinese, trad.]
     因为他办强盗办的好，不到一年竟有路不拾遗的景象。 [Written Vernacular Chinese, simp.]

     From: 1907 CE, Liu E, The Travels of Lao Can

     Yīnwèi tā bàn qiángdào bàn de hǎo, bùdào yīnián jìng yǒu lùbùshíyí de jǐngxiàng. [Pinyin]

     (please add an English translation of this usage example)

Synonyms

• 路無拾遺／路无拾遗
• 道不拾遺／道不拾遗 (dàobùshíyí)
• 拾金不昧 (shíjīnbùmèi)

References

• “路不拾遺”, in 重編國語辭典修訂本 [Revised Mandarin Chinese Dictionary] (in Chinese), National Academy for Educational Research (Taiwan), 2021.