📖 Meaning
To acknowledge the kindness one has received and repay it in kind. It describes a person of moral integrity who remembers favors and returns them. The phrase emphasizes gratitude as a foundational virtue.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase traces back to Yuan dynasty playwright Wang Shifu's 'Romance of the Western Chamber' (Xixiang Ji), Act Five, Scene Three, where the line reads 'In a household of good faith, one who knows kindness repays kindness.' The idiom reflects a deeply rooted Confucian value that receiving a favor creates a moral obligation to return it. Over the centuries it became a standard expression for gratitude and reciprocity in Chinese literature.
💡 Example Usage
他受人资助完成学业，如今事业有成，自然要知恩报恩。
Having been supported financially through his studies, now that he has a successful career, he naturally wants to repay the kindness he received.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 知恩报恩
- Pinyin: zhī ēn bào ēn
- Literal Translation: know, kindness, repay, kindness
- Category: Morality
- Characters: 4