不恥下問

See also: 不耻下问

Chinese

		not; no	shame; disgrace	to ask someone who is less learned or of lesser status than oneself
trad. (不恥下問)		不	恥	下問
simp. (不耻下问)		不	耻	下问

Etymology

The Analects:

子貢問曰：「孔文子何以謂之文也？」子曰：「敏而好學，不恥下問，是以謂之文也。」 [Classical Chinese, trad.]

子贡问曰：“孔文子何以谓之文也？”子曰：“敏而好学，不耻下问，是以谓之文也。” [Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: The Analects of Confucius, c. 475 – 221 BCE, Wiktionary translation

Zǐgòng wèn yuē: “Kǒng wén zǐ héyǐ wèi zhī wén yě?” Zǐ yuē: “Mǐn ér hǎo xué, bù chǐ xià wèn, shì yǐ wèi zhī wén yě.” [Pinyin]

Zigong asked, “How did Kong The Learned come to be (posthumously) dubbed The Learned?”
Master (Confucius) said, “He was clever and loved to learn, he was not ashamed to ask his subordinates (if he did not know something). This is why he was dubbed The Learned.”

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): bùchǐxiàwèn
(Zhuyin): ㄅㄨˋ ㄔˇ ㄒㄧㄚˋ ㄨㄣˋ
Cantonese (Jyutping): bat¹ ci² haa⁶ man⁶

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: bùchǐxiàwèn
  - Zhuyin: ㄅㄨˋ ㄔˇ ㄒㄧㄚˋ ㄨㄣˋ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: bùchǐhsiàwùn
  - Wade–Giles: pu⁴-chʻih³-hsia⁴-wên⁴
  - Yale: bù-chř-syà-wèn
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: buchyyshiahwenn
  - Palladius: бучисявэнь (bučisjavɛnʹ)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /pu⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂʰʐ̩²¹⁴⁻²¹¹ ɕjä⁵¹⁻⁵³ wən⁵¹/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
  - Jyutping: bat¹ ci² haa⁶ man⁶
  - Yale: bāt chí hah mahn
  - Cantonese Pinyin: bat⁷ tsi² haa⁶ man⁶
  - Guangdong Romanization: bed¹ qi² ha⁶ men⁶
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /pɐt̚⁵ t͡sʰiː³⁵ haː²² mɐn²²/

Idiom

不恥下問

to be not ashamed to learn from one's subordinates