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博文約禮

简博文约礼 · 繁博文約禮

Mandarin · pinyin bó wén yuē lǐ

vigorously pursuing knowledge, while scrupulously abiding by the rules of decorum (idiom)

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Characters in this entry

博: bó · gamble, play games; wide, broad
文: wén · literature, culture, writing
約: yuē · treaty, agreement, covenant
禮: lǐ · social custom; manners; courtesy; rites
约: yuē · treaty, agreement, covenant
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

2–2–1–3 · bo2 wen2 yue1 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.

博文約禮 · find source passages ↗ · 博文约礼 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

bok3 man4 joek3 lai5

Cantonese word readings for 博文約禮. 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 extensively study texts and restrain oneself with propriety

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

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