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以儆效尤

Mandarin · pinyin yǐ jǐng xiào yóu

(idiom) to warn against following bad examples; as a warning to others

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Characters in this entry

以: yǐ · by means of; thereby, therefore; consider as; in order to
儆: jǐng · warn; warning
效: xiào · result, effect; effectiveness
尤: yóu · especially, particularly

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Mandarin tones

3–3–4–2 · yi3 jing3 xiao4 you2

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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.

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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

(to make a public demonstration of punishing a wrongdoer) in order to deter innocents who might mimic the example of the wrongdoer

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

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