枉己正人
wǎng​jǐ​zhèng​rén

preach rectitude while being dishonest

  • created sense approved 枉己正人 · wǎng​jǐ​zhèng​rén · preach rectitude while being dishonest — "Initial import from upstream dictionary"

    枉己正人

    wǎng​jǐ​zhèng​rén

    preach rectitude while being dishonest

    To try to reform or correct others despite one's own behavior being improper or dishonest; based on a passage in Mencius stating that one cannot straighten others by being crooked oneself

    枉 (literal) → 枉 · wǎng · to distort 己 (literal) → 己 · jǐ · self 正人 (literal) → 正人 · zhèng​rén · upright person

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

    created sense