不 孝 有 三，无 后 为 大

bù xiào yǒu sān , wú hòu wéi dàdictionary entry

there are three ways to be unfilial / having no sons is the worst (from Mencius 孟子[Mèng zǐ])

Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-48f37666841f7566. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

不孝有三，無後為大 不孝有三，无后为大 [bu4 xiao4 you3 san1 , wu2 hou4 wei2 da4] /there are three ways to be unfilial; having no sons is the worst (from Mencius 孟子[Meng4 zi3])/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

Other forms in these source records: 不孝有三，無後為大

不
bù
no / not so / (bound form) not / un-
孝
xiào
filial piety or obedience / mourning apparel
有
yǒu
to have / there is / (bound form) having / with / -ful / -ed / -al (as in 有意[yǒu yì] intentional)
三
sān
three / 3
Sān
surname San
无
mó
used in 南無|南无[nā mó]
wú
not to have / no / none / not / to lack / un- / -less
后
hòu
empress / queen / (archaic) monarch / ruler / back / behind / rear / afterwards / after / later / post-
Hòu
surname Hou
为
wéi
as (in the capacity of) / to take sth as / to act as / to serve as / to behave as / to become / to be / to do / by (in the passive voice)
wèi
because of / for / to
大
dà
big / large / great / older (than another person) / eldest (as in 大姐[dà jiě]) / greatly / freely / fully / (dialect) father / (dialect) uncle (father's brother)
dài
see 大夫[dài fu]

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.