An-bun-ji-jok

安

편안할 안

分

나눌 분

知

알 지

足

넉넉할 족

Character by character

Meaning

Keep to your station and know contentment.

Origin

Similar phrasing appears in both Confucian and Daoist texts; it was common in Joseon-era Korean writing.

How it is used

Describes a life of reduced wants and satisfaction with what one has.

Hanja安分知足

Simplified安分知足

Korean reading안분지족

Pinyinān fèn zhī zú

Frequently asked questions

Q. What does An-bun-ji-jok mean?

安分知足 · Keep to your station and know contentment.

Q. Where does An-bun-ji-jok come from?

Similar phrasing appears in both Confucian and Daoist texts; it was common in Joseon-era Korean writing.

Q. How is An-bun-ji-jok used?

Describes a life of reduced wants and satisfaction with what one has.

Idioms in the same group

有備無患 Yu-bi-mu-hwanIf you prepare in advance, there is nothing to worry about.易地思之 Yeok-ji-sa-jiThink about it after swapping places with the other person.初志一貫 Cho-ji-il-gwanCarry the resolve you started with all the way through, unchanged.名不虛傳 Myeong-bul-heo-jeonThe reputation was not passed on in vain — it lives up to the name.靑出於藍 Cheong-chul-eo-ramThe blue drawn from the indigo plant is bluer than the plant — the student surpasses the teacher.大器晩成 Dae-gi-man-seongA great vessel takes long to finish — those destined for greatness succeed late.

The idioms used in Korea mix phrases from the Chinese classics with ones coined in Korea. Where an expression is not used in China, the entry says so.