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安貧樂道

简安贫乐道 · 繁安貧樂道

Mandarin · pinyin ān pín lè dào

to be content with poverty and strive for virtue (idiom)

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Characters in this entry

安: ān · peaceful, tranquil, quiet
貧: Look up this written character
樂: lè · happy, glad; enjoyable; music
道: dào · path, road, street; method, way
贫: pín · poor, impoverished, needy
乐: lè · happy, glad; enjoyable; music

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

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Mandarin tones

1–2–4–4 · an1 pin2 le4 dao4

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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.

安貧樂道 · find source passages ↗ · 安贫乐道 · 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.

phrase

(idiomatic) to be contented with living in poverty and take delight in abiding by moral principles

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

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