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不耻下问 (bù chǐ xià wèn) — (idiom) not ashamed to learn from one's inferiors; to have a humble attitude towards seeking knowledge from anyone

Definition

A chengyu praising humility in learning: willingly asking those junior to you, not feeling it beneath you. Used as a virtue or ideal attitude, not a casual everyday phrase.

idiom
not ashamed to learn from one's inferiorsto have a humble attitude towards seeking knowledge from anyone

Examples

  • ，不耻下问，。
    Zuò wéi yí wèi lǐng dǎo, tā jīng cháng bù chǐ xià wèn, xiàng nián qīng yuán gōng qǐng jiào.
    As a leader, he often asks his younger employees without shame.
  • ：“，不耻下问。”
    Kǒng zǐ céng shuō: "mǐn ér hào xué, bù chǐ xià wèn."
    Confucius said, "Quick and fond of learning, not ashamed to ask one's inferiors."
  • 不耻下问。
    Tā zhè zhǒng bù chǐ xià wèn de tài dù zhí dé wǒ men xué xí.
    His attitude of not being ashamed to ask from ashamed to ask from inferiors is worth learning from.

Origin

Characters in this word

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

The picture in 不 originally showed a flower’s calyx; the “no” sense came later from a related character, not from this picture.

Open 不 →

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
耳耳ěr
Sound part声符shēngfú
止
止zhǐ耻chǐ
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

耻 is written with 耳 (ear) on the left and 止 on the right. Here 止 gives the sound, while 耳 is the meaning part.

Open 耻 →

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

下 is drawn as a short horizontal line below a long curved line.

Open 下 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 問; 问 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
口口kǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
門
門mén問wèn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 問 combines 口 (mouth) with 門, which gives the sound; the simplified 问 is a later shorthand and its parts are not the historical components.

Open 问 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Idioms & Set PhrasesSchool & Education

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