三 思 而 后 行

sān sī ér hòu xíngdictionary entry

think again and again before acting (idiom) / consider carefully in advance

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-f6b7722ba1c1c152. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

三思而後行 三思而后行 [san1 si1 er2 hou4 xing2] /think again and again before acting (idiom); consider carefully in advance/

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: 三思而後行

三
sān
three / 3
Sān
surname San
思
sī
to think / to consider
而
ér
and / as well as / and so / but (not) / yet (not) / (indicates causal relation) / (indicates change of state) / (indicates contrast)
后
hòu
empress / queen / (archaic) monarch / ruler / back / behind / rear / afterwards / after / later / post-
Hòu
surname Hou
行
háng
(bound form) row / line / (bound form) line of business / trade / profession / (bound form) commercial firm / (bound form) to rank (first, second etc) among one's siblings (by age) / (in data tables) row / (Tw) column / classifier for rows or lines
héng
used in 道行[dào héng]
xíng
(bound form) to walk / to go / to travel / (literary) trip / journey / visit / (bound form) temporary / makeshift / (bound form) current / in circulation / (bound form) to do / to perform / capable / competent / all right / OK! / will do / behavior / conduct (Taiwan pr. [xìng]) / (literary) about to / soon

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.