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君子报仇，十年不晚

jūn zi bào chóu , shí nián bù wǎndictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
lit. for a nobleman to take revenge, ten years is not too long (idiom) / fig. revenge is a dish best served cold
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-b4b7570e1c6b5c36. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

君子報仇，十年不晚 君子报仇，十年不晚 [jun1 zi5 bao4 chou2 , shi2 nian2 bu4 wan3] /lit. for a nobleman to take revenge, ten years is not too long (idiom)/fig. revenge is a dish best served cold/

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: 君子報仇，十年不晚

  • 君
    jūn

    monarch / lord / gentleman / ruler

  • 子
    zǐ

    son / child / seed / egg / small thing / 1st earthly branch: 11 p.m.–1 a.m., midnight, 11th solar month (7th December to 5th January), year of the rat / viscount, fourth of five orders of nobility 五等爵位[wǔ děng jué wèi] / ancient Chinese compass point: 0° (north) / subsidiary / subordinate / (prefix) sub-

    zi

    noun suffix, as in 椅子[yǐ zi] "chair"

  • 报
    bào

    to report / to inform / to announce / to respond / to reply / to sign up for / to register for (abbr. for 報名|报名[bào míng]) / to reward / to recompense / to take revenge / to retaliate / newspaper / periodical / journal / bulletin / telegram

  • 仇
    chóu

    hatred / animosity / enmity / foe / enemy / to feel animosity toward (the wealthy, foreigners etc)

    Qiú

    surname Qiu

  • 十
    shí

    ten / 10

  • 年
    nián

    year / CL:個|个[gè] / grain / harvest (old)

    Nián

    surname Nian

  • 不
    bù

    no / not so / (bound form) not / un-

  • 晚
    wǎn

    evening / night / late

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.