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以德報怨

简以德报怨 · 繁以德報怨

Mandarin · pinyin yǐ dé bào yuàn

to return good for evil (idiom)
to requite evil with good

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Characters in this entry

以: yǐ · by means of; thereby, therefore; consider as; in order to
德: dé · ethics, morality, virtue
報: Look up this written character
怨: yuàn · hatred, enmity, resentment
报: bào · report, tell, announce

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

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Mandarin tones

3–2–4–4 · yi3 de2 bao4 yuan4

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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.

以德報怨 · find source passages ↗ · 以德报怨 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

ji5 dak1 bou3 jyun3

Cantonese word readings for 以德報怨. 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

(idiomatic) to return good for evil; to return kindness for injury

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

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