Myeong-cheol-bo-sin

明

밝을 명

哲

밝을 철

保

지킬 보

身

몸 신

Character by character

Meaning

Understand clearly and thereby keep yourself safe.

Origin

From the Book of Songs, originally positive advice to conduct oneself wisely.

How it is used

Now often carries a critical edge — playing safe to avoid trouble.

Hanja明哲保身

Simplified明哲保身

Korean reading명철보신

Pinyinmíng zhé bǎo shēn

Frequently asked questions

Q. What does Myeong-cheol-bo-sin mean?

明哲保身 · Understand clearly and thereby keep yourself safe.

Q. Where does Myeong-cheol-bo-sin come from?

From the Book of Songs, originally positive advice to conduct oneself wisely.

Q. How is Myeong-cheol-bo-sin used?

Now often carries a critical edge — playing safe to avoid trouble.

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.