DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

巧詐不如拙誠

简巧诈不如拙诚 · 繁巧詐不如拙誠

Mandarin · pinyin qiǎo zhà bù rú zhuō chéng

the unvarnished truth is better than a cunning ruse (idiom)
honesty is the best policy

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

巧: qiǎo · skillful, ingenious, clever
詐: Look up this written character
不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
如: rú · if, supposing; as if; like, as
拙: zhuō · stupid, clumsy, crude; convention
誠: Look up this written character
诈: zhà · cheat, defraud, swindle; trick
诚: chéng · sincere, honest; true, real

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

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

3–4–4–2–1–2 · qiao3 zha4 bu4 ru2 zhuo1 cheng2

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

6character 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.

巧詐不如拙誠 · find source passages ↗ · 巧诈不如拙诚 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗