有则改之，无则加勉 in English you3 ze2 gai3 zhi1 , wu2 ze2 jia1 mian3 Meaning

Meanings

  • correct any mistakes you made, but maintain your good record if you did not make them (idiomatic expression)

Simplified Characters

有 则 改 之 ， 无 则 加 勉

Traditional Characters

有 則 改 之 ， 無 則 加 勉

Pinyin

you3 ze2 gai3 zhi1 , wu2 ze2 jia1 mian3

Literal

Literal explanation, with pronunciation and meaning of each character.

有you3to have 则ze2(conjunction used to express contrast with a previous clause) but 改gai3to change 之zhi1(possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的[de5]) ， 无wu2not to have 则ze2(conjunction used to express contrast with a previous clause) but 加jia1abbr. for Canada 加拿大[Jia1 na2 da4] 勉mian3to exhort