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見利忘義

简见利忘义 · 繁見利忘義

Mandarin · pinyin jiàn lì wàng yì

(idiom) to abandon moral principles in the pursuit of profit

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Characters in this entry

見: jiàn · see, observe, behold; perceive; Kangxi radical 147
利: lì · gains, advantage, profit, merit
忘: wàng · forget; neglect; miss, omit
義: Look up this written character
见: jiàn · see, observe, behold; perceive
义: yì · right conduct, righteousness

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

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Mandarin tones

4–4–4–4 · jian4 li4 wang4 yi4

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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.

見利忘義 · find source passages ↗ · 见利忘义 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

gin3 lei6 mong4 ji6

Cantonese word readings for 見利忘義. 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

(idiomatic) to forget one's principles whenever tempted by the prospect of personal gain

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

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