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礼义廉耻

lǐ yì lián chǐdictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
(idiom) propriety, justice, integrity and a sense of shame (i.e. the four social bonds, 四維|四维[sì wéi])
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-c872e944f7049468. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

禮義廉恥 礼义廉耻 [li3 yi4 lian2 chi3] /(idiom) propriety, justice, integrity and a sense of shame (i.e. the four social bonds, 四維|四维[si4 wei2])/

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: 禮義廉恥

  • 礼
    lǐ

    gift / rite / ceremony / CL:份[fèn] / propriety / etiquette / courtesy

    Lǐ

    surname Li / abbr. for 禮記|礼记[Lǐ jì], Classic of Rites

  • 义
    yì

    justice / righteousness / meaning / foster (father etc) / adopted / artificial (tooth, limb etc) / relationship / friendship

    Yì

    surname Yi / (Tw) Italy (abbr. for 義大利|义大利[Yì dà lì])

  • 廉
    lián

    incorruptible / honest / inexpensive / to investigate (old) / side wall of a traditional Chinese house (old)

    Lián

    surname Lian

  • 耻
    chǐ

    (bound form) shame / humiliation / disgrace

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.