明哲保身 míng zhé bǎo shēn

to put one's own safety before matters of principle

Word data

HSK Not in HSK
Frequency 43317th word

Definitions

  1. 1. to put one's own safety before matters of principle
  2. 2. a wise man looks after his own hide (idiom)

Characters

Character Meaning
明 míng HSK 1
bright; (of meaning) clear; to understand
哲 zhé HSK 5
wise; a sage; (used in given names)
保 bǎo HSK 4
to protect; to ensure; to guarantee
身 shēn HSK 2
body; oneself; personally