Conduct & Attitude
明鏡止水
명경지수
míng jìng zhǐ shuǐ
Myeong-gyeong-ji-su
明
밝을 명
鏡
거울 경
止
그칠 지
水
물 수
Character by character
Meaning
A mind as clear as a bright mirror and still water.
Origin
From the Zhuangzi, which likens the sage’s mind to water at rest.
How it is used
Used to advise settling the mind before making a judgement.
Hanja明鏡止水
Simplified明镜止水
Korean reading명경지수
Pinyinmíng jìng zhǐ shuǐ
Frequently asked questions
Q. What does Myeong-gyeong-ji-su mean?
明鏡止水 · A mind as clear as a bright mirror and still water.
Q. Where does Myeong-gyeong-ji-su come from?
From the Zhuangzi, which likens the sage’s mind to water at rest.
Q. How is Myeong-gyeong-ji-su used?
Used to advise settling the mind before making a judgement.
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.