人无完人
人无完人 (rén wú wán rén) literally means “no perfect person exists” and expresses “accept human flaws”. This idiom is used when describing situations involving life philosophy.
Also searched as: ren wu wan ren, ren wu wan ren,人无完人 meaning, 人无完人 in english
Accept human flaws
Pronunciation: rén wú wán rén Literal meaning: No perfect person exists
Origin & Usage
Usually said as one half of 金无足赤,人无完人 — gold is never wholly pure, no person (人) is a complete (完) person (无). The pairing does the argument: purity is a standard that even the standard metal fails, so demanding it of a human being is a category error rather than high principle. It is used to defuse rather than to excuse, most often by a third party trying to keep a fault in proportion, and it carries an implication about the speaker's expectations more than about the person being discussed.
Examples
English: "He understands that everyone has flaws, as no one is perfect."
Chinese: 他明白每个人都有缺点,人无完人。
Related Chinese Idioms
Similar idioms about life philosophy
完璧归赵
wán bì guī zhào
Return something perfect
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目中无人
mù zhōng wú rén
Extremely arrogant; look down on everyone
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杞人忧天
qǐ rén yōu tiān
Worry needlessly about impossible disasters
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差强人意
chā qiáng rén yì
Broadly satisfactory, better than feared
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人山人海
rén shān rén hǎi
Vast crowds of people
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庸人自扰
yōng rén zì rǎo
Creating unnecessary troubles for oneself
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风土人情
fēng tǔ rén qíng
A place's environment together with its customs
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人以群分
rén yǐ qún fēn
Like-minded association
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Frequently Asked Questions
What does 人无完人 mean in English?
人无完人 (rén wú wán rén) literally translates to “No perfect person exists” and is used to express “Accept human flaws”. This Chinese idiom belongs to the Life Philosophy category.
When is 人无完人 used?
Situation: He understands that everyone has flaws, as no one is perfect.
What is the pinyin for 人无完人?
The pinyin pronunciation for 人无完人 is “rén wú wán rén”.