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先天下之忧而忧，后天下之乐而乐

Traditional: 先天下之憂而憂，後天下之樂而樂
xiān tiān xià zhī yōu ér yōu , hòu tiān xià zhī lè ér lè
Dictionary entry
to be the first to worry about affairs of state, and the last to enjoy oneself (quotation from the essay On Yueyang Tower 岳陽樓記|岳阳楼记[Yue4 yang2 Lou2 Ji4] by Song writer Fan Zhongyan 范仲淹[Fan4 Zhong4 yan1])

What does 先天下之忧而忧，后天下之乐而乐 mean?

先天下之忧而忧，后天下之乐而乐 (xiān tiān xià zhī yōu ér yōu , hòu tiān xià zhī lè ér lè) has the following dictionary meaning.

1to be the first to worry about affairs of state, and the last to enjoy oneself (quotation from the essay On Yueyang Tower 岳陽樓記|岳阳楼记[Yue4 yang2 Lou2 Ji4] by Song writer Fan Zhongyan 范仲淹[Fan4 Zhong4 yan1])

Character breakdown

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先xiānbeforehand; first; earlier · at first; originally天tiānday · sky下xiàdown · downwards之zhī(possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的[de5]) · him忧yōuto worry · to concern oneself with而érand · as well as后Hòusurname Hou乐Lèsurname Le

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How to pronounce 先天下之忧而忧，后天下之乐而乐

先天下之忧而忧，后天下之乐而乐
xiān tiān xià zhī yōu ér yōu , hòu tiān xià zhī lè ér lè
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Base dictionary data: CC-CEDICT · CC BY-SA 4.0.