以柔克剛

简 以柔克刚 · 繁 以柔克剛
Mandarin · pinyin yǐ róu kè gāng

Meanings

  1. to use softness to conquer strength (idiom)
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Characters in this entry

以
yǐ · by means of; thereby, therefore; consider as; in order to
柔
róu · soft; gentle, pliant
克
kè · gram; overcome; transliteration
剛
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刚
gāng · hard, tough, rigid, strong
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

3–2–4–1 · yi3 rou2 ke4 gang1

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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.

以柔克剛 · find source passages ↗ · 以柔克刚 · find source passages ↗

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