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德才兼備

简德才兼备 · 繁德才兼備

Mandarin · pinyin dé cái jiān bèi

(idiom) possessing both integrity and talent

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Characters in this entry

德: dé · ethics, morality, virtue
才: cái · talent, ability; just, only
兼: jiān · unite, combine; connect; and
備: bèi · prepare, ready, perfect
备: bèi · prepare, ready, perfect

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

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Mandarin tones

2–2–1–4 · de2 cai2 jian1 bei4

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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.

德才兼備 · find source passages ↗ · 德才兼备 · find source passages ↗

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Rime Cantonese 粵拼

dak1 coi4 gim1 bei6

Cantonese word readings for 德才兼備. 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

(idiomatic) having both talents and morals; having both ability and integrity

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

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