Hexagram 38: 睽 (kuí)
睽
kuí · Legge: Khwei
Lower trigram ☱ 兌 (Lake), upper trigram ☲ 離 (Fire)
Judgment
小事吉。
Khwei indicates that, (notwithstanding the condition of things which it denotes), in small matters there will (still) be good success.
Commentary on the judgment (彖傳)
睽，火動而上，澤動而下；二女同居，其志不同行；說而麗乎明，柔進而上行，得中而應乎剛；是以小事吉。天地睽，而其事同也；男女睽，而其志通也；萬物睽，而其事類也；睽之時用大矣哉！
The image (大象)
上火下澤，睽；君子以同而異。
The six lines
| Line | Chinese | Legge | Changes to |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 — | 睽孤， 見豕負涂，載鬼一車， 先張之弧，後說之弧，匪寇婚媾，往遇雨則吉。 | The topmost line, undivided, shows its subject solitary amidst the (prevailing) disunion. (In the subject of the third line, he seems to) see a pig bearing on its back a load of mud, (or fancies) there is a carriage full of ghosts. He first bends his bow against him, and afterwards unbends it, (for he discovers) that he is not an assailant to injure, but a near relative. Going forward, he shall meet with (genial) rain, and there will be good fortune. | 54 |
| 5 – – | 悔亡，厥宗噬膚，往何咎。 | The fifth line, divided, shows that (to its subject) occasion for repentance will disappear. With his relative (and minister he unites closely and readily) as if he were biting through a piece of skin. When he goes forward (with this help), what error can there be? | 10 |
| 4 — | 睽孤，遇元夫，交孚，厲无咎。 | The fourth line, undivided, shows its subject solitary amidst the (prevailing) disunion. (But) he meets with the good man (represented by the first line), and they blend their sincere desires together. The position is one of peril, but there will be no mistake. | 41 |
| 3 – – | 見輿曳，其牛𧤊，其人天且劓，无初有終。 | In the third line, divided, we see one whose carriage is dragged back, while the oxen in it are pushed back, and he is himself subjected to the shaving of his head and the cutting off of his nose. There is no good beginning, but there will be a good end. | 14 |
| 2 — | 遇主于巷，无咎。 | The second line, undivided, shows its subject happening to meet with his lord in a bye-passage. There will be no error. | 21 |
| 1 — | 悔亡，喪馬勿逐，自復；見惡人无咎。 | The first line, undivided, shows that (to its subject) occasion for repentance will disappear. He has lost his horses, but let him not seek for them;—they will return of themselves. Should he meet with bad men, he will not err (in communicating with them). | 64 |
Lines are numbered from the bottom. Each line page shows the line text with its small image commentary; each “changes to” link opens the reading for that changing line.
Related hexagrams
- Inverse (lines in reverse order): hexagram 37
- Opposite (every line changed): hexagram 39 · reading
- Nuclear (lines 2–4 and 3–5): hexagram 63
English: James Legge, The Yî King, Sacred Books of the East vol. 16 (1882) — public domain; OCR text of the 1882 printing, checked against the proofread hexagrams. Chinese: Zhou Yi from Chinese Wikisource.
Character glossary
- 小xiǎosmall, tiny, insignificant
- 事shìaffair, matter, business; to serve; acci
- 吉jílucky, propitious, good
- 悔huǐto regret, to repent, to show remorse
- 亡wángdeath, destruction; to lose; to perish
- 喪sàngmourning; mourn; funeral
- 馬mǎhorse; surname
- 勿wùmust not, do not; without, never
- 逐zhúto pursue; to expel; step by step
- 自zìself; private, personal; from
- 復fùagain, repeatedly; copy, duplicate; to r
- 見jiànto see, to observe, to meet, to appear
- 惡èbad, evil, wicked; to hate, to loathe; f
- 人rénman, person; people
- 无wúno, not; lacking, -less
- 咎jiùfault, defect; error, mistake
- 遇yùto meet, to encounter, to come across
- 主zhǔto own; to host; master; host; lord
- 于yúat, in, on; to, from; alas!
- 巷xiàngalley, lane
- 輿yúcart, palanquin, sedan chair
- 曳yèto tow, to pull, to drag
- 其qíhis, her, its, their; that
- 牛niúox, cow, bull
- 𧤊
- 天tiānsky, heaven; god, celestial
- 且qiěmoreover, also (post-subject); about to,
- 劓yìto cut off the nose
- 初chūbeginning, initial, primary
- 有yǒuto have, to own, to possess; to exist
- 終zhōngend; finally, in the end
- 睽kuíto stare
- 孤gūorphaned; alone, lonely, solidary
- 元yuánfirst; dollar; origin; head
- 夫fūman, husband; worker; those
- 交jiāoto connect; to deliver, to exchange; to
- 孚fúto brood over eggs; to have confidence
- 厲lìwhetstone; to grind, to sharpen, to whet
- 厥juépersonal pronoun; he, she, it
- 宗zōngancestry, clan, family, lineage; religio
- 噬shìto bite, to gnaw; to snap at
- 膚fūskin; shallow, superficial
- 往wǎngto go, to depart; past, former
- 何héwhat, why, where, which, how
- 豕shǐpig, boar
- 負fùload, burden; to carry, to bear
- 涂túto smear, to scribble, to daub; surname
- 載zàiload; to carry, to convey, to transport
- 鬼guǐghost; demon; sly, mischievous
- 一yīone; a, an; alone
- 車chēcart, vehicle; to move in a cart
- 先xiānfirst, former, previous
- 張zhāngto display; to expand, to open; to stret
- 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
- 弧húarc, crescent; wooden bow
- 後hòuafter; behind, rear; descendants
- 說shuōto speak, to say; to scold, to upbraid
- 匪fěibandits, robbers, gangsters
- 寇kòubandit, thief; enemy; to invade
- 婚hūnto get married; marriage, wedding
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0); Chinese Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.