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從善如流

简从善如流 · 繁從善如流

Mandarin · pinyin cóng shàn rú liú

readily following good advice (idiom); willing to accept other people's views

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Characters in this entry

從: cóng · from, by, since, whence, through
善: shàn · good, virtuous, charitable, kind
如: rú · if, supposing; as if; like, as
流: liú · flow, circulate, drift; class
从: cóng · from, by, since, whence, through

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

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Mandarin tones

2–4–2–2 · cong2 shan4 ru2 liu2

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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.

從善如流 · find source passages ↗ · 从善如流 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

cung4 sin6 jyu4 lau4

Cantonese word readings for 從善如流. 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

(simile) to be happy and quick to accept good advice

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

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