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以和為貴

简以和为贵 · 繁以和為貴

Mandarin · pinyin yǐ hé wéi guì

harmony is to be prized

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Characters in this entry

以: yǐ · by means of; thereby, therefore; consider as; in order to
和: hé · harmony, peace; peaceful, calm
為: Look up this written character
貴: Look up this written character
为: wèi · do, handle, govern, act; be
贵: guì · expensive, costly, valuable

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

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Mandarin tones

3–2–2–4 · yi3 he2 wei2 gui4

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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.

以和為貴 · find source passages ↗ · 以和为贵 · 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.

phrase

(idiomatic) to prize and maintain harmony

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

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