míng​zhé​bǎo​shēn

wise self-preservation

  • created sense approved 明哲保身 · míng​zhé​bǎo​shēn · wise self-preservation — "Initial import from upstream dictionary"

    明哲保身

    míng​zhé​bǎo​shēn

    wise self-preservation

    to be wise and look after one's own safety (originally a compliment for one who stays out of trouble through wisdom)

    明哲 (literal) → 明哲 · míng​zhé · wise and sensible 保身 (literal) → 保身 · bǎo​shēn · to care for one's safety

    Changed: simplified, traditional, gloss, definition, pinyin, variant pinyin, variants, separable parts, decomposition

    created sense

  • created sense approved 明哲保身 · míng​zhé​bǎo​shēn · to play it safe — "Initial import from upstream dictionary"

    明哲保身

    míng​zhé​bǎo​shēn

    to play it safe

    to put one's own safety before matters of principle or to selfishly avoid taking risks (modern pejorative use)

    明哲 (literal) → 明哲 · míng​zhé · wise and sensible 保身 (literal) → 保身 · bǎo​shēn · to care for one's safety

    Changed: simplified, traditional, gloss, definition, pinyin, variant pinyin, variants, separable parts, decomposition

    created sense