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克己復禮

简克己复礼 · 繁克己復禮

Mandarin · pinyin kè jǐ fù lǐ

restrain yourself and return to the rites (idiom, from Analects); to subdue self and observe proprieties
(any number of possible translations)

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Characters in this entry

克: kè · gram; overcome; transliteration
己: jǐ · self, oneself; personal, private; 6th heavenly stem
復: Look up this written character
禮: lǐ · social custom; manners; courtesy; rites
复: fù · return; repeat; repeatedly
礼: lǐ · social custom; manners; courtesy; rites

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

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Mandarin tones

4–3–4–3 · ke4 ji3 fu4 li3

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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.

克己復禮 · find source passages ↗ · 克己复礼 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

hak1 gei2 fuk6 lai5

Cantonese word readings for 克己復禮. 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 subdue oneself and return to propriety

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

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