求仁得仁

Mandarin · pinyin qiú rén dé rén

Meanings

  1. lit. to seek virtue and acquire it (idiom)
  2. fig. to have one's wish fulfilled
Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

求
qiú · seek; demand, request; beseech
仁
rén · humaneness, benevolence, kindness
得
dé · obtain, get, gain, acquire
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

2–2–2–2 · qiu2 ren2 de2 ren2

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

3character 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.

求仁得仁 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Rime · Wiktionary

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

kau4 jan4 dak1 jan4

Cantonese word readings for 求仁得仁. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

  1. (idiomatic) to have one's wish fulfilled

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

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

求仁得仁 · qiu2 ren2 de2 ren2
CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG · edition 2026-10-13 · source line 62,707
Original dictionary · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source & transformation details
Exact source record求仁得仁 求仁得仁 [qiu2 ren2 de2 ren2] /lit. to seek virtue and acquire it (idiom)/fig. to have one's wish fulfilled/