大义灭亲 (dà yì miè qīn) — to place righteousness above family loyalty; to sacrifice family ties for the sake of justice

Definition

A formal chengyu: 'to place justice above family ties' — usually praising someone who punishes a relative for a serious crime. Literary register; rarely used in everyday speech.

idiom
to place righteousness above family loyaltyto sacrifice family ties for the sake of justice

Examples

  • 大义灭亲，。
    Fǎ guān dà yì miè qīn, bú gù zì jǐ de ér zi fàn le fǎ yě yào yī fǎ chǔ lǐ.
    The judge placed righteousness above his family, insisting on handling his own son according to the law even though he had broken it.
  • 大义灭亲，。
    Zhè ge gù shi jiǎng de shì yí gè mǔ qīn dà yì miè qīn, jǔ bào le fàn dú de zhàng fu.
    This story is about a mother who denounced her drug-dealing husband for the sake of justice.
  • ，大义灭亲，。
    Zài nà zhǒng qíng kuàng xià, tā xuǎn zé dà yì miè qīn, shì yīn wèi tā jué de yuán zé bǐ qīn qíng gèng zhòng yào.
    In that situation, he chose to uphold righteousness over family ties because he believed principles are more important than blood relations.

Origin

Characters in this word

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

The form 大 is a picture of a person standing and facing forward, not of someone stretching their arms.

Open 大 →

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 →

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 滅; 灭 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
烕
烕miè滅miè
Same sound today

The traditional form 滅 pairs 氵 (water) with 烕 as a sound part to mean extinguish by water; the simplified 灭 is a later shorthand.

Open 灭 →

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 親; 亲 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
見見jiànsee
Sound part声符shēngfú
辛
辛xīn親qīn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 親 uses 見 (see) for sense and 辛 (a chisel) for sound; the simplified 亲 is a shorthand and its parts are not the historical components.

Open 亲 →

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