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-d6f2ca1dd8b41000. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.
Original source entry:
先天下之憂而憂，後天下之樂而樂 先天下之忧而忧，后天下之乐而乐 [xian1 tian1 xia4 zhi1 you1 er2 you1 , hou4 tian1 xia4 zhi1 le4 er2 le4] /to be the first to worry about affairs of state, and the last to enjoy oneself (quotation from the essay On Yueyang Tower 岳陽樓記|岳阳楼记[Yue4 yang2 Lou2 Ji4] by Song writer Fan Zhongyan 范仲淹[Fan4 Zhong4 yan1])/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: 先天下之憂而憂，後天下之樂而樂
Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.