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敬而遠之

简敬而远之 · 繁敬而遠之

Mandarin · pinyin jìng ér yuǎn zhī

to show respect from a distance (idiom)
to remain at a respectful distance

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Characters in this entry

敬: jìng · respect, honor; respectfully
而: ér · and; and then; and yet; but; Kangxi radical 126
遠: yuǎn · distant, remote, far; profound
之: zhī · marks preceding phrase as modifier of following phrase; it, him her, them; go to
远: yuǎn · distant, remote, far; profound

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

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Mandarin tones

4–2–3–1 · jing4 er2 yuan3 zhi1

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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.

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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 stay at a respectful distance from; to give a wide berth (to)

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

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