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三綱五常

简三纲五常 · 繁三綱五常

Mandarin · pinyin sān gāng wǔ cháng

three principles and five virtues (idiom)
the three rules (ruler guides subject, father guides son and husband guides wife) and five constant virtues of Confucianism (benevolence 仁, righteousness 義, propriety 禮, wisdom 智 and fidelity 信)

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Characters in this entry

三: sān · three
綱: Look up this written character
五: wǔ · five; surname
常: cháng · common, normal, frequent, regular
纲: gāng · heavy rope, hawser; main points

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

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Mandarin tones

1–1–3–2 · san1 gang1 wu3 chang2

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

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三綱五常 · find source passages ↗ · 三纲五常 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

saam1 gong1 ng5 soeng4

Cantonese word readings for 三綱五常. 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

(Confucianism) the three essential relationships (between ruler and subject, father and son, and husband and wife) and five constant virtues (justice, politeness, wisdom, fidelity and benevolence)

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

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