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义无反顾 (yì wú fǎn gù) — to be duty-bound not to turn back; to pursue justice with no second thoughts

Definition

A formal chengyu meaning to press forward without looking back, driven by duty or justice. Stronger and more literary than the everyday 坚持 ('to persist').

verb
to be duty-bound not to turn backto pursue justice with no second thoughts

Examples

  • ，义无反顾。
    Wèi le zhèng yì, tā yì wú fǎn gù dì zǒu shàng le qián xiàn.
    For justice, he pressed forward without hesitation to the front line.
  • ，义无反顾，。
    Miàn duì kùn nan, wǒ men yì wú fǎn gù, jué bú tuì suō.
    Facing difficulties, we are duty-bound not to turn back and will never retreat.
  • 义无反顾。
    Tā yì wú fǎn gù dì xuǎn zé le zuì wēi xiǎn de rèn wu.
    He chose the most dangerous mission with no second thoughts.

Origin

Characters in this word

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 義; 义 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
羊羊yáng
Sound part声符shēngfú
我
我wǒ義yì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 義 has 我 giving the sound and 羊 meaning good or auspicious; the simplified 义 is a later abbreviation.

Open 义 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 無; 无 is its simplified writing.

For the simplified 无, the story is about 無. 無 drew a person dancing with ox tails held in both hands to pray for rain, then was borrowed for 'have no', so the picture does not explain that meaning.

Open 无 →

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
又又yòuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
厂
厂chǎng反fǎn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

反 uses 又 (hand) for meaning and 厂 for sound. Its original shape showed a hand turning its palm over, giving the sense of return or reverse.

Open 反 →

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 顧; 顾 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
頁頁yè
Sound part声符shēngfú
雇
雇gù顧gù
Same sound today

The traditional form 顧 combines 雇 as a sound part and 頁 as a meaning part; 顾 is the simplified form of 顧.

Open 顾 →
Appears in
Idioms & Set Phrases

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