诲人不倦

Pronunciation: huì rén bù juàn Literal meaning: Teach others without weariness

Origin & Usage

In the Analects, Confucius says 学而不厌，诲人不倦 — never tiring of study, never wearying (不倦) of instructing (诲) people (人) — and adds, what of these is in me? He is not answering a question about himself; the modesty is unprompted. A separate passage makes the same move about sagehood, disclaiming it and allowing only that he works at it without tiring and teaches without wearying. The pairing is the interesting part either way: teaching is made the other half of study rather than a separate virtue. The teacher who explains the same thing for the twentieth time with no change in manner — and that repetition is exactly what is being measured.

Examples

English: "Despite explaining it many times, she remained patient with the students."

Chinese: 尽管解释了很多遍，她仍然诲人不倦。