君子 jūnzǐ nobleman
nobleman; person of noble character
How to remember 君子: 君 sovereign + 子 child = nobleman.
Characters
How it is used
- A person of noble character, the Confucian ideal - 君子之交 (jūnzǐ zhī jiāo) a gentleman's (unpretentious) friendship; 正人君子 (zhèngrén jūnzǐ) an upright person.
- Its moral opposite is 小人 (xiǎorén, a petty/mean person). Literary and moralizing; rarely a plain word for 'man' - 他是个小人 (tā shì ge xiǎorén) he's a petty man.