DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT
水至清則無魚,人至察則無徒
简 水至清则无鱼,人至察则无徒 · 繁 水至清則無魚,人至察則無徒Mandarin · pinyin shuǐ zhì qīng zé wú yú , rén zhì chá zé wú tú
Meanings
- (saying) water that is too clear has no fish, and one who is too severe has no friends
Characters in this entry
- 水
- shuǐ · water, liquid, lotion, juice
- 至
- zhì · reach, arrive; extremely, very; Kangxi radical 133
- 清
- qīng · clear, pure, clean; peaceful
- 則
- Look up this written character
- 無
- Look up this written character
- 魚
- yú · fish; surname; Kangxi radical 195
- 人
- rén · man; people; mankind; someone else
- 察
- chá · examine, investigate; notice
- 徒
- tú · disciple, follower; go on foot
- 则
- zé · rule, law, regulation; grades
- 无
- wú · negative, no, not; Kangxi radical 71
- 鱼
- yú · fish; surname; Kangxi radical 195
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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.
水至清則無魚,人至察則無徒 · find source passages ↗ · 水至清则无鱼,人至察则无徒 · find source passages ↗