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過而能改,善莫大焉
简 过而能改,善莫大焉 · 繁 過而能改,善莫大焉Mandarin · pinyin guò ér néng gǎi , shàn mò dà yān
Meanings
- If one can change after making a mistake, there is nothing better (idiom)
Characters in this entry
- 過
- guò · pass, pass through, go across
- 而
- ér · and; and then; and yet; but; Kangxi radical 126
- 能
- néng · to be able; can, permitted to; ability
- 改
- gǎi · change, alter; improve, remodel
- 善
- shàn · good, virtuous, charitable, kind
- 莫
- mò · do not, is not, can not; negative
- 大
- dà · big, great, vast, large, high
- 焉
- yān · thereupon, then; how? why? where?
- 过
- guò · pass, pass through, go across
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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.
過而能改,善莫大焉 · find source passages ↗ · 过而能改,善莫大焉 · find source passages ↗