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學而優則仕

简学而优则仕 · 繁學而優則仕

Mandarin · pinyin xué ér yōu zé shì

one who is successful in one's studies, can become an official (idiom)

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Characters in this entry

學: xué · learning, knowledge; school
而: ér · and; and then; and yet; but; Kangxi radical 126
優: Look up this written character
則: Look up this written character
仕: shì · official; serve government
学: xué · learning, knowledge; school
优: yōu · superior, excellent; actor
则: zé · rule, law, regulation; grades

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

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Mandarin tones

2–2–1–2–4 · xue2 er2 you1 ze2 shi4

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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.

學而優則仕 · find source passages ↗ · 学而优则仕 · find source passages ↗

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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.

proverb

The student, having completed his studies, should enter into government service.

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

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