1 compassion, duty, propriety and integrity (idiom); all the traditional virtues
2 mainly used sarcastically, to mean hypocritical
以其人之道,还治其人之身
yǐ qí rén zhī dào , huán zhì qí rén zhī shēn
1 to use an opponent's own methods to obtain retribution (idiom, from Song dynasty neo-Confucianist Zhu Xi 朱熹); to get revenge by playing sb back at his own game
2 to give sb a taste of his own medicine
以德报怨
yǐ dé bào yuàn
1 to return good for evil (idiom)
2 to requite evil with good
以直报怨,以德报德
yǐ zhí bào yuàn , yǐ dé bào dé
1 to repay kindness with kindness, and repay enmity with justice (idiom, from Analects)
任其自然
rèn qí zì rán
1 to let things take their course (idiom)
2 to leave it to nature
3 laissez-faire
作茧自缚
zuò jiǎn zì fù
1 to spin a cocoon around oneself (idiom); enmeshed in a trap of one's own devising
2 hoist by his own petard
优游自得
yōu yóu zì dé
1 free and at leisure (idiom); unfettered
儿孙自有儿孙福
ér sūn zì yǒu ér sūn fú
1 younger generations will do all right on their own (idiom)
冰炭不言,冷热自明
bīng tàn bù yán , lěng rè zì míng
1 ice or coals, whether hot or cold goes without saying (idiom); fig. sincerity is not expressed in words
出自肺腑
chū zì fèi fǔ
1 from the bottom of one's heart (idiom)
刚愎自用
gāng bì zì yòng
1 obstinate and self-opinionated (idiom)
功到自然成
gōng dào zì rán chéng
1 effort will undoubtedly lead to success (idiom)
功德圆满
gōng dé yuán mǎn
1 virtuous achievements come to their successful conclusion (idiom)
功德无量
gōng dé wú liàng
1 no end of virtuous achievements (idiom); boundless beneficence
厚德载物
hòu dé zài wù
1 with great virtue one can take charge of the world (idiom)
Sample Sentences
Free for members
Build your personal vocabulary!
With ChinesePod, you can not only build your vocabulary but also practice Chinese characters in our writing app!