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愛民如子

简爱民如子 · 繁愛民如子

Mandarin · pinyin ài mín rú zǐ

(idiom) to love the common people as one's own children (praise for a virtuous ruler)

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Characters in this entry

愛: ài · love, be fond of, like
民: mín · people, subjects, citizens
如: rú · if, supposing; as if; like, as
子: zǐ · offspring, child; fruit, seed of; first earthly branch
爱: ài · love, be fond of, like

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

4–2–2–3 · ai4 min2 ru2 zi3

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

愛民如子 · find source passages ↗ · 爱民如子 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

oi3 man4 jyu4 zi2

Cantonese word readings for 愛民如子. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(simile, of a ruler) to greatly love and cherish one's subjects

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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