君子之交 jūn zǐ zhī jiāo

pure, calm friendship between gentlemen

Word data

HSK Not in HSK
Frequency Unknown

Definitions

  1. 1. friendship between gentlemen, insipid as water (idiom, from Zhuangzi 庄子zhuāng zǐ)

Characters

Character Meaning
君 jūn HSK 6
lord; ruler; monarch
子 zǐ HSK 1
(noun suffix); son; child
之 zhī HSK 4
(possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的de); it
交 jiāo HSK 4
to pay (money); to hand over; to deliver