Analects 4.20
The Analects (論語), BOOK IV. LE JIN 里仁第四
子曰、三年無改於父之道、可謂孝矣。
The Master said, "If the son for three years does not alter from the way of his father, he may be called filial."
James Legge (1861), Confucian Analects, The Chinese Classics vol. 1 (1861; 2nd ed. 1893) — public domain.
Character glossary
- 子zison, child; seed, egg; fruit; small thin
- 曰yuēto speak; to say
- 三sānthree
- 年niányear; anniversary; a person's age
- 無wúno, not; lacking, -less
- 改gǎito alter, to change, to improve, to remo
- 於yúat, in, on; to, from; alas!
- 父fùfather, dad
- 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
- 道dàomethod, way; path, road
- 可kěmay, can, -able; possibly
- 謂wèito call, to say, to tell; name, title; m
- 孝xiàofilial piety, obedience; mourning
- 矣yǐparticle of completed action
Passages with shared wording
- Analects 1.11
- Mencius 3A.2
- Mencius 4A.14
- Zhuangzi The Old Fisherman
- Analects 8.12
- Zhuangzi The Great Supreme
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.