害人之心不可有，防人之心不可无 hài rén zhī xīn bù kě yǒu ， fáng rén zhī xīn bù kě wú

refrain from hurting others, yet guard against those trying to hurt you (proverb)

Word data

HSK Not in HSK
Frequency Unknown

Definitions

  1. 1. refrain from hurting others, yet guard against those trying to hurt you (proverb)

Characters

Character Meaning
害 hài HSK 3
to do harm to; harm; to cause trouble to
人 rén HSK 1
person; people; man
之 zhī HSK 4
(possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的de); it
心 xīn HSK 3
heart; mind; intention
不 bù HSK 1
not; no; (negative prefix)
可 kě HSK 2
can; may; able to
有 yǒu HSK 1
to have; there is; there are
防 fáng HSK 5
to prevent; to protect; to defend
人 rén HSK 1
person; people; man
之 zhī HSK 4
(possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的de); it
心 xīn HSK 3
heart; mind; intention
不 bù HSK 1
not; no; (negative prefix)
可 kě HSK 2
can; may; able to
无 wú HSK 4
not; no; not to have