quân tử ưu đạo bất ưu bần
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
The gentleman worries over the way, not over want — poverty of purse never troubled him, poverty of principle does.
Literally: gentleman grieves the path, not the poverty
Sources & notes
Discovered via Tục ngữ, cổ ngữ, gia ngôn (Huỳnh Tịnh Của, 1897; public domain, via vi.wikisource); retrieved 2026-08-01. Source: source ↗ Attested in Tục ngữ, cổ ngữ, gia ngôn (Huỳnh Tịnh Của, 1897). Definition is an original editorial synthesis, not copied from the source.
Common questions
What does “quân tử ưu đạo bất ưu bần” mean?
The gentleman worries over the way, not over want — poverty of purse never troubled him, poverty of principle does. Literally: gentleman grieves the path, not the poverty
Is “quân tử ưu đạo bất ưu bần” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.