DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

善自為謀

简善自为谋 · 繁善自為謀

Mandarin · pinyin shàn zì wéi móu

to be good at working for one's own profit (idiom)

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

善: shàn · good, virtuous, charitable, kind
自: zì · self, private, personal; from; Kangxi radical 132
為: Look up this written character
謀: Look up this written character
为: wèi · do, handle, govern, act; be
谋: móu · plan, scheme; stratagem

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

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

4–4–2–2 · shan4 zi4 wei2 mou2

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

4character links

Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗

Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

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.

善自為謀 · find source passages ↗ · 善自为谋 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗