HSK 6 · Ideas

见义勇为 jiànyìyǒngwéi “to act bravely for a just cause” in Chinese

Traditional 見義勇為

What 见义勇为 means

  1. to act bravely for a just cause
  2. (idiom, from the Analects) (usu. of a passer-by who comes across a critical situation) to step in and help
  3. to take brave or selfless action

How to say 见义勇为

  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale见jiàn4th tone, falling
  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale义yì4th tone, falling
  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale勇yǒng3rd tone, dipping
  • Pitch chart of the second tone: rises from mid to high, 3 to 5 on the five-level scale为wéi2nd tone, rising

见义勇为 in a sentence

  1. 他见义勇为，救了落水的孩子。

    Tā jiànyìyǒngwéi, jiù le luòshuǐ de háizi.

    He bravely stepped in and saved a child who had fallen into the water.

    Sentence by WillyChina

  2. 大家都称赞他见义勇为的行为。

    Dàjiā dōu chēngzàn tā jiànyìyǒngwéi de xíngwéi.

    Everyone praised his brave act.

    Sentence by WillyChina

How 见义勇为 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 见 (jiàn) with each of its parts in a different colour
见jiànto see
  • 冂down box · jiōng
  • 儿legs · ér

Memory aidSimplified from 見: a big eye 目 on top of a person 儿: to see.

The character 义 (yì) with each of its parts in a different colour
义yìjustice
  • 丶dot · zhǔ
  • 乂to govern · yìSound part

⺷ hints at the meaning (sheep); 乂 (yì) hints at the sound. Compare it with yì.

The character 勇 (yǒng) with each of its parts in a different colour
勇yǒngbrave
  • 甬path · tǒngSound part
  • 力strength · lìMeaning part

力 hints at the meaning (strength); 甬 (tǒng) hints at the sound. Compare it with yǒng.

The character 为 (wèi) with each of its parts in a different colour
为wéias
  • 丶dot · zhǔ
  • 力strength · lì
  • 丶dot · zhǔ

How to write 见义勇为

见 4 strokes · 义 3 strokes · 勇 9 strokes · 为 4 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

见义勇为 (jiànyìyǒngwéi) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 见义勇为 (jiànyìyǒngwéi). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 见义勇为

Words with 见

看见kànjiàn · to see再见zàijiàn · goodbye听见tīngjiàn · to hear见jiàn · to see见面jiànmiàn · meet/see somebody见到jiàndào · to see不见bújiàn · to be missing遇见yùjiàn · to meet (by chance)常见chángjiàn · common意见yìjiàn · idea

Words with 义

义务yìwù · duty意义yìyì · sense贬义biǎnyì · negative connotation正义zhèngyì · justice定义dìngyì · definition含义hányì · meaning主义zhǔyì · -ism

Words with 勇

勇敢yǒnggǎn · brave勇气yǒngqì · courage英勇yīngyǒng · heroic勇于yǒngyú · to have the courage to

Words with 为

因为yīnwèi · because为什么wèishénme · why为wèi · for认为rènwéi · believe为了wèile · in order to以为yǐwéi · to think (wrongly)成为chéngwéi · to become行为xíngwéi · action作为zuòwéi · as (in the role of)为期wéiqī · to last for (a period)

More words: Ideas & Concepts

画蛇添足huàshétiānzú · to spoil something by adding the unnecessary (lit. drawing legs on a snake)活力huólì · vitality见解jiànjiě · view见闻jiànwén · what one sees and hears焦点jiāodiǎn · focus级别jíbié · level结局jiéjú · ending界限jièxiàn · boundary

FAQs

见义勇为 (jiànyìyǒngwéi) means “to act bravely for a just cause” or “(idiom, from the Analects) (usu. of a passer-by who comes across a critical situation) to step in and help”. It is an HSK 6 word.
Say it jiànyìyǒngwéi: jiàn with a 4th tone, then yì with a 4th tone, then yǒng with a 3rd tone, then wéi with a 2nd tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 见义勇为 is written 見義勇為. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type jianyiyongwei with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 见义勇为 from the suggestions. Typing jianyiyongwei into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
见义勇为 is an HSK 6 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

Turn words into conversations

A dictionary gives you the words. A native teacher shows you how to use them. Start with a free 30-minute intro call.

Book a free intro call

Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences written by WillyChina. Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.