Analects 2.22 · Wei Zheng
“If a person is not trustworthy, I do not know what that person is good for.”
Meaning, context, and how to apply it today
人而無信 不知其可也 (rén ér wú xìn, bù zhī qí kě yě) means “If a person is not trustworthy, I do not know what that person is good for.” It is a passage from the Analects of Confucius, Book 2 (Wei Zheng), Chapter 22.
人而無信 不知其可也
- Pinyin
- rén ér wú xìn, bù zhī qí kě yě
- Translation
- If a person is not trustworthy, I do not know what that person is good for.
- Source
- Analects, Book 2 (Wei Zheng), Chapter 22
What does this passage mean?
The character for trustworthiness joins the ideas of a person and speech: it points to truth in what a person says. Trustworthiness is keeping one’s word. In Confucius’s time, oral promises were more common than written contracts, so trust was a fundamental bond holding society together. The phrase asking what such a person is capable of concerns the person’s worth as a social being.
How can we apply it today?
Even in a modern world where contracts and laws help secure trust, basic trustworthiness between people remains essential. Arriving late, breaking a small promise, or saying something different behind another person’s back may seem minor, but repeated acts like these destroy confidence. In business as well, trust is ultimately the greatest asset. Restoring trust once lost can require ten times the effort it took to build.
Questions to reflect on
- ·How faithfully do you keep both large and small promises?
- ·If you have lost someone’s trust, what caused it?
- ·What qualities distinguish the person you trust most?
Character-by-character breakdown
| Character | Pinyin | Meaning | Strokes | Radical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 人 | rén | person | 2 | 人 (person) |
| 而 | ér | and; but | 6 | 而 (and) |
| 無 | wú | lack | 12 | 火 (fire) |
| 信 | xìn | trust | 9 | 人 (person) |
| 不 | bù | not | 4 | 一 (one) |
| 知 | zhī | know | 8 | 矢 (arrow) |
| 其 | qí | that; he | 8 | 八 (eight) |
| 可 | kě | right | 5 | 口 (mouth) |
| 也 | yě | grammatical particle | 3 | 乙 (second) |
Frequently asked questions
Q. What does “If a person is not trustworthy, I do not…” mean?
人而無信 不知其可也 (rén ér wú xìn, bù zhī qí kě yě) means “If a person is not trustworthy, I do not know what that person is good for.” It comes from the Analects, Book 2 (Wei Zheng), Chapter 22.
Q. Where does this passage appear in the Analects?
It is Analects 2.22: Book 2 (Wei Zheng), Chapter 22.
Q. How can this teaching be applied today?
Even in a modern world where contracts and laws help secure trust, basic trustworthiness between people remains essential.