倫 (lún) - Ethics, human relationships, moral principles & order, sequence

倫Tone 2

lún ｜ 10 strokes ｜ radical:

伦妙

倫 · lún

Ethics, human relationships, moral principles;

order, sequence;

peer, equal;

used in Classical Chinese to mean 'kind, category'.

Ethics, human relationships, moral principlesorder, sequencepeer, equal

Usage highlights

EthicsHuman relationshipsPeerlessIllogical/incongruousEthical principlesBy analogy

Synonyms

  • 理— principle, reason (overlaps in ethical contexts)
  • 道— way, path (in moral philosophical contexts)

Antonyms

  • 乱— chaos, disorder (opposite of ethical order)

Usage & contexts

Examples

  • Confucian ethics emphasize five cardinal relationships (五伦).
  • He has no peer in his field (无与伦比).
  • This reasoning is illogical (不伦不类).
  • The article discusses bioethics (生命伦理学).

Collocations

  • Ethics(伦理)
  • Human relationships(人伦)
  • Peerless(无与伦比)
  • Illogical/incongruous(不伦不类)
  • Ethical principles(伦常)
  • By analogy(伦比)

Idioms

  • Peerless, beyond compare(无与伦比)
  • Neither fish nor fowl, incongruous(不伦不类)
  • Uphold ethical principles(敦伦尽分)

Cultural background

FAQ
  • Central to Confucian thought, referring to the five cardinal relationships (ruler-subject, father-son, husband-wife, elder-younger, friend-friend).
  • Implies natural order and hierarchy in human relationships, forming the basis of traditional Chinese social structure.
  • Used in modern contexts for ethics, particularly in academic and professional fields.

FAQ