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為人師表

简为人师表 · 繁為人師表

Mandarin · pinyin wéi rén shī biǎo

to serve as a model for others (idiom)
to be a worthy teacher

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Characters in this entry

為: Look up this written character
人: rén · man; people; mankind; someone else
師: shī · teacher, master, specialist; multitude, troops; hexagram ䷆
表: biǎo · show, express, manifest, display
为: wèi · do, handle, govern, act; be
师: shī · teacher, master, specialist

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

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Mandarin tones

2–2–1–3 · wei2 ren2 shi1 biao3

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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 set an example for others to learn; to be a teacher

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

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