不孝有三,无后为大 bù xiào yǒu sān , wú hòu wéi dà

DEFINITIONS

  1. There are three ways to be unfilial; having no sons is the worst. (citation from Mencius 孟子[Meng4 zi3])

CHARACTERS

不 bù no, not; un-; negative prefix
孝 xiào filial piety, obedience; mourning
有 yǒu have, own, possess; exist
三 sān three
无 wú negative, no, not; KangXi radical 71
后 hòu queen, empress, sovereign; (simp. for 後) behind, rear, after
为 wéi do, handle, govern, act; be
大 dà big, great, vast, large, high