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虛懷若谷

简虚怀若谷 · 繁虛懷若谷

Mandarin · pinyin xū huái ruò gǔ

receptive as an echoing canyon (idiom); modest and open-minded

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Characters in this entry

虛: Look up this written character
懷: Look up this written character
若: ruò · if, supposing, assuming; similar
谷: gǔ · valley, gorge, ravine; Kangxi radical 150
虚: xū · false
怀: huái · bosom, breast; carry in bosom

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Mandarin tones

1–2–4–3 · xu1 huai2 ruo4 gu3

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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.

虛懷若谷 · find source passages ↗ · 虚怀若谷 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

heoi1 waai4 joek6 guk1

Cantonese word readings for 虛懷若谷. 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

(simile) modest and open-minded

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

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