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三思而後行

简三思而后行 · 繁三思而後行

Mandarin · pinyin sān sī ér hòu xíng

think again and again before acting (idiom); consider carefully in advance

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Characters in this entry

三: sān · three
思: sī · think, consider, ponder; final particle
而: ér · and; and then; and yet; but; Kangxi radical 126
後: hòu · behind, rear, after; descendents
行: xíng · go; walk; move, travel; circulate; Kangxi radical 144
后: hòu · queen, empress, sovereign; (simp. for 後) behind, rear, after

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

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Mandarin tones

1–1–2–4–2 · san1 si1 er2 hou4 xing2

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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.

三思而後行 · find source passages ↗ · 三思而后行 · find source passages ↗

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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.

proverb

look before you leap

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

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