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三思而后行 (sān sī ér hòu xíng) — to think carefully before acting; to look before you leap

Definition

A chengyu meaning 'think three times before acting' — i.e. look before you leap. Used as a warning or advice when a decision is weighty or risky.

idiom
to think carefully before actingto look before you leap

Examples

  • ，三思而后行。
    Zuò zhòng dà jué dìng qián, zuì hǎo sān sī ér hòu xíng.
    Before making an important decision, it's best to think carefully before acting.
  • 三思而后行，。
    Tā quàn wǒ sān sī ér hòu xíng, bú yào suí biàn huàn gōng zuò.
    He advised me to look before I leap and not change jobs casually.
  • 三思而后行，。
    Tóu zī xū yào sān sī ér hòu xíng, bù néng zhī kàn yǎn qián lì yì.
    Investing requires careful thought; you can't only focus on short-term gains.

Origin

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

三 is drawn as three parallel strokes, like 一 with one stroke and 二 with two.

Open 三 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
囟
囟xìn思sī
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 思, 心 (heart) points to thinking, while the top part is a changed form of 囟, which supplied the sound.

Open 思 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 而 is a picture of a beard.

Open 而 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 後; 后 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 後 showed 夊 (foot) bound by 幺 (thread), a foot caught by a rope and lagging behind; the simplified 后 is a later abbreviation, and 后 also has a different meaning.

Open 后 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

  • 彳彳chì
  • 亍亍chù

The shape of 行 originally showed a street intersection, even on both sides. Later it became uneven, with 彳 on the left and 亍 on the right.

Open 行 →
Appears in
Idioms & Set PhrasesThinking & Cognition

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