DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

三不朽

Mandarin · pinyin sān bù xiǔ

the three imperishables, three ways to distinguish oneself that aren't forgotten by history: through one's virtue 立德 lì dé, one's service 立功 lì gōng and one's writings 立言 lì yán (from the Zuo Zhuan 左傳 Zuǒ Zhuàn)

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Characters in this entry

三: sān · three
不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
朽: xiǔ · decayed, rotten; rot, decay

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Mandarin tones

1–4–3 · san1 bu4 xiu3

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