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反求諸己

简反求诸己 · 繁反求諸己

Mandarin · pinyin fǎn qiú zhū jǐ

to seek the cause in oneself rather than sb else

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Characters in this entry

反: fǎn · reverse, opposite, contrary, anti
求: qiú · seek; demand, request; beseech
諸: Look up this written character
己: jǐ · self, oneself; personal, private; 6th heavenly stem
诸: zhū · various, all, these; surname

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

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Mandarin tones

3–2–1–3 · fan3 qiu2 zhu1 ji3

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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.

反求諸己 · find source passages ↗ · 反求诸己 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

faan2 kau4 zyu1 gei2

Cantonese word readings for 反求諸己. 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 self-reflect; to engage in self-examination

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

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