• home
  • vocab
  • tutoring
  • blog
  • help

Make Your Point > Archived Issues > CONFUCIAN

Send Make Your Point issues straight to your inbox.



pronounce CONFUCIAN:

kun FEW shun
Your browser does not support the audio element.


connect this word to others:

You're probably familiar with the kind of short, wise statements commonly attributed to the philosopher Confucius, like these:

"When you have faults, do not fear to abandon them."

"Fine words and an insinuating appearance are seldom associated with true virtue."

"The mechanic, who wishes to do his work well, must first sharpen his tools."

(I snagged these from The Analects of Confucius.)

Could you think of the perfect label for these sayings, whether they're from Confucius or anyone else? They're aph____ms: statements that express enlightened principles in very few words.

(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)  

definition:

"Confucius," literally meaning "Master Kong," is the Latin form of the name Kǒng Qiū, a Chinese philosopher who lived from about 551 to 479 BCE.

His basic teachings—please forgive me for oversimplifying them—focus on the importance of things like kindness, loyalty, harmony, sincerity, self-improvement, and devotion to one's family.

Since the late 1600s in English, we've used the word "Confucian" as a noun to mean a person who embraces or teaches the philosophy of Confucius, and we've used it as an adjective to describe an idea that fits with that philosophy.

To rephrase that second meaning, we call things Confucian when they seem to embrace or express the importance of things like kindness, loyalty, harmony, sincerity, self-improvement, and devotion to one's family.

grammatical bits:

Part of speech:

Adjective, the proper kind, so you capitalize it: "these Confucian values;" "Their values seem Confucian."

Other forms: 

"Confucianism" is the noun for the idea.

And "Confucian," spelled the same as the adjective, is also the noun for a person who lives by Confucian ideas.

how to use it:

Despite being a highly academic term, "Confucian" is pretty common and easily understood.

Pick it when you want to sound formal, scholarly, and extremely specific.

You might talk about Confucian quotes, aphorisms, ideas, values, ethics, principles, and educational and political systems.

examples:

"Echoing Confucian themes, President Hu said the country should promote such values as honesty and unity, as well as forge a closer relationship between the people and the government."   
  — Daniel A Bell, The Guardian, 16 October 2006

"Classical Confucian philosophy places a lot of emphasis on ritual. It may be no surprise, then, that evidence suggests that East Asians from highly ritualized Confucian cultures have stronger self-regulation skills than people from Western cultures... Simple rituals can help us build personal discipline and self-control." 
   — Francesca Gino, Scientific American, 21 August 2018

has this page helped you understand "Confucian"?

   

Awesome, I'm glad it helped!

Thanks for letting me know!
If you have any questions about this term, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.


study it:

Explain the meaning of "Confucian" without saying "enlightened" or "peacefully philosophical."

try it out:

In the Guardian, Sun Shuyun reviewed Amy Chua's controversial book Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, writing:

"Chua's strict parenting is inspired by Confucius's belief that education is superior, and all else is inferior... [but] if she knew her Confucius, she would know that moderation in all things is the essence of Chinese culture."

As we can see, there are so many ideas in Confucius's writings that it's possible to use them to justify contradictory views, like Chua and Shuyun did here.

If you had to pick sides here, agreeing with one of those two contradictory Confucian ideas—that education is most important in life, or that moderation in all things is most important—which one would you pick, and why?




before you review, play:

Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.

Our game this month is "Words On Words On Birds."

Use your knowledge of vocabulary to answer questions about the terminology describing names for birds.

Try this today:

What does it mean for a genus to be monotypic?

A. The genus has only one species.
B. The genus has a large variety of species.
C. The genus is made up of species with only one eye.
D. The genus is made up of many one-eyed, two-eyed, and many-eyed species.

Need a hint? Highlight the hidden text: Consider the meaning of the prefix "mono-" as well as the likely contextual meaning of "type" ("-typic").

To see the answer, scroll all the way down. 

review this word:

1. A near opposite of CONFUCIAN is

A. SINGLE.
B. SELFISH.
C. STRAIGHTFORWARD.

2. In 2017, Reuters reported on the "_____" and how it posed a problem for people following the "Confucian traditions of _____."

A. Women's March .. blind obedience to authority
B. lack of space for cemeteries .. filial obligation
C. Paris Climate Agreement .. America-first foreign policy




Answers to the review questions:
1. B
2. B

From the game:

What does it mean for a genus to be monotypic?

A. "The genus has only one species" is the correct answer.
B. The genus has a large variety of species.
C. The genus is made up of species with only one eye.
D. The genus is made up of many one-eyed, two-eyed, and many-eyed species.

Was that one too easy? A "monotypic" genus has only one (mono-) species (-type) in it, such as the genus Pandion, which has just one species: the osprey, known as Pandion haliaetus (which roughly means "the sea eagle of Pandion I," a king in Greek myth).


a final word:


I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.

I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.


From my blog:
On vocabulary...
      36 ways to study words.
      Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
      How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
On writing...
      How to improve any sentence.
      How to motivate our kids to write.
      How to stop procrastinating and start writing.
      How to bulk up your writing when you have to meet a word count.

From my heart: a profound thanks to the generous patrons, donors, and sponsors that make it possible for me to write these emails. If you'd like to be a patron or a donor, please click here. If you'd like to be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.

Subscribe to "Make Your Point" for a daily vocabulary boost.



© Copyright 2026 | All rights reserved.