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见利忘义

jiàn lì wàng yì

HSK 7–9

Meaning

  • lit. to see profit and forget morality (idiom)
  • fig. to act from mercenary considerations; to sell one's soul

Definition

看到利益就忘了道义。形容人贪图私利，不顾道义。

To forget morality when seeing profits. Describes someone who is greedy for personal gain and disregards righteousness.

Usage

通常用作贬义，形容那些为了利益而背弃朋友、原则或道德的人。

Usually used in a derogatory sense to describe people who betray friends, principles, or morals for the sake of profit.

Examples

  • 1 他为了得到那笔奖金，不惜出卖同事，真是见利忘义。 (He didn't hesitate to betray his colleagues to get that bonus, truly forgetting morality for profit.)
  • 2 在商业竞争中，有些公司见利忘义，使用不正当手段打压对手。 (In business competition, some companies forget morality for profit, using unfair means to suppress opponents.)
  • 3 朋友之间应该互相扶持，不能见利忘义。 (Friends should support each other and not forget morality for profit.)
  • 4 他见利忘义的行为让所有人都对他失望了。 (His behavior of forgetting morality for profit disappointed everyone.)
  • 5 那个商人见利忘义，卖假货欺骗顾客。 (That merchant forgot morality for profit, selling fake products to deceive customers.)

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