上 善 若 水

shàng shàn ruò shuǐdictionary entry

the ideal is to be like water (which benefits all living things and does not struggle against them) (quotation from the "Book of Dao" 道德經|道德经[Dào dé jīng])

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-a94797cb3d76300e. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

上善若水 上善若水 [shang4 shan4 ruo4 shui3] /the ideal is to be like water (which benefits all living things and does not struggle against them) (quotation from the "Book of Dao" 道德經|道德经[Dao4 de2 jing1])/

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.

上
shǎng
used in 上聲|上声[shǎng shēng]
shàng
(bound form) up / upper / above / previous / first (of multiple parts) / to climb / to get onto / to go up / to attend (class or university) / (directional complement) up / (noun suffix) on / above
善
shàn
good (virtuous) / benevolent / well-disposed / good at sth / to improve or perfect
若
rě
used in 般若[bō rě] / used in 蘭若|兰若[lán rě]
ruò
to seem / like / as / if
水
shuǐ
water / (after a name) ... River / to swim (used mostly in 會水|会水[huì shuǐ] and 水性[shuǐ xìng]) / (coll.) lacking in substance / shoddy / (bound form) additional cost / extra income / classifier for washings of a garment
Shuǐ
surname Shui / Shui ethnic group

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.