Q0138
Zengzi
A verified English rendering from the curated archive.
English
Zengzi said: Each day I examine myself on three counts: In acting on behalf of others, have I been loyal? In dealings with friends, have I been trustworthy? Have I practiced what was passed on to me?
Source context
This English passage is associated with Analects, Xue Er, within the tradition of Confucianism. The wording below is a verified rendering prepared for careful reading rather than a claim of unique translation authority.
A short reading
Read in the register of self-examination, the sentence asks the reader to test an assumption rather than to collect a slogan. In Zengzi's wider work, similar claims are usually offered as prompts for judgment: what would have to be true for the sentence to hold, and what would follow if it did?
How to cite this quotation
APA: Zengzi. (n.d.). Zengzi said: Each day I examine myself on three counts: In acting on behalf of others, have I been loyal? In dealings with friends, have I been trustworthy? Have I practiced what was passed on to me? In Philosophy Blind Box. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0138
MLA: Zengzi. “Zengzi said: Each day I examine myself on….” Philosophy Blind Box, https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0138.
Chicago: Zengzi. “Zengzi said: Each day I examine myself on….” Philosophy Blind Box. Accessed 2026. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0138.