敬而远之
jìng'ér​yuǎn​zhī HSK7

to keep a respectful distance

  1. 敬 jìng verb
    to respect
    to respect; to honor; to treat someone with solemnity and politeness
  2. 而 ér particleconjunction
    [adverbial linker]
    Connects an adverb-like description to the following verb to show the manner, cause, or basis of an action.
  3. 远 遠 yuàn verbadjective
    to keep away from
    to distance oneself from; to avoid; to stay away from
  4. 之 zhī pronoun
    it
    Used only in the object position to refer to a person or thing already mentioned, meaning "him", "her", "it", or "them".