Proverbs
A fall into the pit, a gain in your wit. 吃一堑，长一智 Facts speak louder than words. 事实胜于雄辩 Money can’t buy time. 寸金难买寸光阴
Failure is the mother of success. 失败乃成功之母。 The visitor arrives, it is as if returning home.宾至如归。 A good beginning is half the battle.良好的开端成功的一半。 To teach is to learn.教学相长。
Like father,like son.有其父，必有其子。 Pride goes before a fall.骄兵必败。 Fish in trouble water.混水摸鱼。 Business is business.公事公办。 The style is the man.文入其人。
More haste,less speed.欲速则不达。 Great minds think alike.英雄所见略同。 Misfortunes never come alone. 祸不单行。
Hedges have eyes,walls have ears.隔篱有眼，隔墙有耳。 Man proposes,God disposes.谋事在人，成事在天。 Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.情人眼里出西施。 Time and tide wait for no man.时不待我/岁月无情。
A young idlder,an old beggar. 少壮不努力，老大徒伤悲。 Out of office,out of danger.无官一身轻。 In time of peace prepare for war.居安思危。
The tongue cuts the throat.祸从口出。/言多必失。
Out of sight,out of mind./far from eye,far from heart.眼不见为净。
All shall be well,Jack shall be Jill. 有情人终成眷属。
Friends must part.聚散离合总有时。/天下无不散之宴席。 The remenbrance of the past is the teacher of the future.前事不忘，后世之师。
Love me,love dog. 爱屋及乌。
Kill two birds with one stone.一箭双雕。/一石双鸟。 Speak the devil(and he will appear). 说曹操，曹操到。 A new broom sweeps clean.新官上任三把火。 Beat the dog before the lion.杀鸡儆猴。 Let sleeping dog lie.勿打草惊蛇。 Teach fish to swim.班门弄斧。
A word spoken is past recallling. 一言既出，驷马难追。 Once beaten, twice shy. 一朝被蛇咬，十年怕井绳。 Birds of a feather flock together.物以类分，人以群分。 In for a penny, in for a pound.一不做，二不休。 There is smoke without fire.无风不起浪。 Have a card up one’s sleeve.胸有成竹。 Put the cart before the horse.本末倒置。
Fine feathers make fine birds.佛要金装，人要衣装。 As a man sows, so he shall reap.种瓜得瓜，种豆得豆。 Much will have more.得陇望蜀。/得寸进尺。
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The sauce is better than the fish.喧宾夺主。
He cries wine and sells vinegar.挂羊头，买狗肉。 Good wine needs no bush.酒香不怕巷子深。
Every potter praises his pot.王婆卖瓜，自卖自夸。 The pupil outdoes the master.青出于蓝而胜于蓝。 There are plenty of fish in the sea.天涯何处有芳草 Diamond cut diamont.强中更有强中手。 He take a spear to kill a fly.杀鸡用牛刀。 Gifts blind the eyyes.拿了手软，吃了嘴软。
Don’t bite the hand that feeds you.不要将恩仇报。 Dogs bite in every country.天下乌鸦一般黑。
Peace on the forehead and war in the mind.口蜜腹剑。
Better an open enemy than a false friend.。明枪易躲，暗箭难防。
Do one thing under cover of another. 明修栈道，暗度陈仓。 The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.心有余而力不足。 Little strokes fell great oaks.滴水穿石。/只要功夫深，铁杵磨成针。
Judge not a book by its cover. 人不可貌相，海水不可斗量。 All roads lead to Rome./all riversrun into the sea..殊途同归。 A straight foot is not afraid of crooked shoe.身正不怕影子斜。
The knife cuts bread and fingers.水能载舟，亦能覆舟。 A sparrow cannot understand the ambition of a swan.燕雀安知鸿鹄之志哉。
It is better to be the head of a dog/lizard than the tail of lion.宁为鸡手，无为牛后。
It is better to die than to live when life is a disgrace./Better die.with hounor than live with shame.
Dogs bite in every countries.天下乌鸦一般黑。
A horse stumbles that has four legs.人非圣贤，熟能无过。 A clear conscience is a sure card.为人不做亏心事，半夜不怕鬼敲门。
A bad conscience is a snake in one’s heart.做贼心虚。 All your swans are greese.事与愿违。
Justice has long arms.天网恢恢，疏而不漏。 Late fruite keeps well.大器晚成。
Take things as they come.既来之，则安之。
A hedge between keeps friendship green.君子之交淡如水。 Rest breeds rust.生命在于运动。 Names are debts.树大招风。
Common fame is a liar.盛名之下，其实难附。
Many kiss the baby for the nurse’s sake.醉翁之意不在酒。 Nothing venture, nothing have.不入虎穴，焉得虎子。 Do in Rome as the Romans do.如乡随俗。
Things done cannot be done.木已成舟。/覆水难收。 True blue will never stain.真金不怕火炼。
Everybody’s business is nobody’s busness.三个和尚没水
吃。
The moon is not seen when the sun shines.小巫见大巫。 Penny wise and pound foolish.因小失大。
He knows most who speaks least./still water runs deep.大智若愚。
As you make the bed, so you must lie in it.自食其果。 The pot calls the kettle black.五十步笑百步。 Short pleasure,long lament.一失足成千古恨。
Don’t count the chichen before they are hatched.请勿盲目乐观。
What is done by night appears by day.若要人不知，除非己莫为。
Danger is next neighour to security.塞翁失马，安知非福。 Misfortue might be a blessing in disguise.祸兮福所倚，福兮祸所伏。
What we lose in hake we shall have in herring.失之东隅，收之桑榆。
Stick together through thick and thin.有福同享，有祸同当/祸患与共。/风雨同舟。
Save your breath to cool your porridge.个人自扫门前雪，莫管他人瓦上霜。
A watched pot never boils.心急吃不了热豆腐。/有心插花花不开，无心插柳柳成阴。
A leopard cannot change its spots./you cannot make a crab walk straight.江山易改，本性难移。
Don’t trouble touble until trouble troubles you.车到山前必有路。
Accidents will happen./Every tide has its ebb.天有不测风云，人有旦夕祸福。
Even Homer sometimes nods./The best horse stumbles.智者千虑，必有一失。
Rome was not built in a day.冰冻三尺，非一日之寒。 The shephered would rather lose the wool than the sheep.留得青山在，不怕没柴烧。
A little leak will sink a great ship./a stitch in time saves nine.亡羊补牢。
Silence is golden.沉默是金。
A rolling stone gathers no moss.滚石不生苔。
One swallow does not make a summer.一燕不成夏。 All is not gold that glitters. 闪闪发光物，并非皆金子。 A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.双鸟在林，不如一鸟在手。
A bird in known by its note and a man by his talk.闻啼知鸟，闻言知人。
Safety and danger alternate with each other. Misfortune and fortune generate each other. Slowness and promptness follow each other. Gathering and scatering complement each other.安危相宜，祸福相生，缓急相争，聚散相成。
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When full,remember someone elso is suffering hunger, when warm, remember someone elso is suffering cold, when in case, remembe someone else is suffering fatigue. 饱而知人之饥，温而知人之寒，逸而知人之劳。
Man seeks before gains, toils before succeeds, accumulates before increases, and exhausts his efforts before he becomes a sage. Thus, a sage grows out of accumulation.
彼求之而后得，为之而后成，积之而后高，尽之而后圣。故圣人也者，人之所积也。
Learn extensively, inquire thoroughly, ponder prudently, discriminate clearly, and practice diligently.博学之，审问之，慎思之，明辩之，笃行之。
One can never be aware of the height of the sky or the depth of the earth, if he does not climb up a high mountain or look down into a deep abyss.不登高山，不知天之厚；不临深渊，不知地之厚也。
It is better to hear something than not to hear it.still better to see it than hear it. Still better to know it than to see it. Still better to practice it than to now it. Learning will not stop until it is put into practice. 不闻不若闻之，闻之不若见之，见之不若知之。学至行之而止矣。
Wealth and rank attained through imoral means are as empty as floating clouds to me.不义而富贵，于我如浮云。
It makes a moral man to ask for what he doesn’t know, to learn what he can’t do, and to restrain himself from what he is capable of.不之则问，不能则学，虽能必让，然后为德。 Brave and courageours you are the most. Till your death you stick to your post.诚既勇兮又以武，终刚强兮不可凌。 A public spirit will rule all under the heaven when the great Way prevails.大道之行也，天下为公。
The endless river flows eastward, with its huge waves,gone are all those gallant heroes of bygone years. 大江东去，浪淘尽，千古风流人物。
What is most perfect seems to have something missing, yet its use in unimpaired. What is most full seems empty, yet its use will neer fail. What is most straight appears crooked, what is most skilled appears clumsy, and what is most eloquent appears incoherent.大成若缺，其用大弊，大盈若冲，其用不穷，大直若曲，大巧若掘。
Absorbed in paiting, you knnow not old age is coming, indeed, to me wealth and rank are like clouds drifting away.丹青不知老将至，富贵于我如浮云。
We wish each other a long life so as to share the beauty of this graceful moonlight, even though we are miles apart.但愿人长久，千里共婵娟。
The way that can be told of is not an Unvarying way, the manes that can be named are not unvarying names. It was nameless that heaven and the Earth sprangfrom, it was the
named that nurtured everything between the Heaven and the Earth.道可道，非常道， 名可名，非常名。无名，天地之始；有名，万物之母。
The way fills up the universe. For its geatness, nothing lies outside it, for its smallness, nothing lies within it.道在天地之间，其大无外，其内无小。
Following the naural law, everything will go on smoothly. Disobeying it, even rule established will upset.得天之道，其事若自然；失天之道，虽立而不安。
As the Earth’s capacity is to hold, so must a gentleman constantly cultivate virtue in himself to shoulder the world.地势坤，君子以厚德载物。
A lonely stranger in a strange land I am cast, I miss my family all the more on every festive day.独在异乡为异客，每逢佳节倍思亲。
Stick to the truth you believe, broaden your knowledge about it, and be ready to die for its realization.笃信好学，守死善道。
The gentlemam does not agree those who know too much but are close to nothing, or learn too broadly bu without direction, or love too many but without fixed one.多知而无亲，博学而无方，好多而无定者，君子不与。
If two people are of the same mind, their sharpness can cut through metal.二人同心，其利断金。
The law does not favor the noble, as an ink line does not yied to the crooked wood. Whereever the law applies, the wise cannot evade, nor can the brave defy. Punishment applies to a minister, as rewards apply to common man.法不阿贵，绳不挠曲。 法之所加，智者弗能辞，勇者弗能争。 刑过不避大臣，赏善不遗匹夫。
It is a true great amn whom no money and rank can confuse, no poverty and hardship can shake, and no power and force can suffocate.富贵不能淫，贫贱不能移，威武不能屈，此之谓大夫矣。
Impartiality produces clarity and partiality obscurity.公生明，偏生暗。
Be strict with yourself and lenient to others.躬自厚而薄责于人。
Life or death, I wll do whatever I can for the benefits of the country.苟利社稷，死生以之。
The noble takes the humble as its root, the high takes the low as its base.贵以贱为本，高以下为基。
A sea is vast, as it rejects no water. A mountain is high, as it rejects no rocks. A wise ruler gathers more people, as he is not tired of meeting people. A schoolar becomes a sage, as he is not tired of learning.海不辞水，故能成其大；山不辞土，故能成其高；明主不厌人，故能成其众；士不厌学，故能成其圣。
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A bosom friend afar brings distance near.海内存知己，天涯若比临。
A huge tree that fills one’s arms grows from a tiny seeding, a nine sories tower rises from a heap of earth, a thousand-li journey starts with the first step.合抱之木，生于毫末；九层之台，起于垒土；千里之行，始于足下。
Misfortune generates happiness, and happiness breeds misfortune.祸兮，福之所存；福兮，祸之所伏。
Do not forget righteousness in face of profits, nor alter the moral principles in face of death.见利不亏其义，见死不更其死。
When seeing a man of virtue, try to become his equal;when seeing a man without virtue, examine yourself not to have the same.见贤思齐焉，见不贤而内自省也。
Rivers and seas can become the kings of valleys because they excel in taking the lower positions.江海所以能为百谷王者，以其善下之。
This land is so beautiful that it has made countless heroes bow in homage.江山如此多娇，引无数英雄竞折腰。
Cut down the expenditure, open up additional resources, and constantly check your finance to make a balance.节其流，开其源，而时斟酌焉。
Raising my head, I see the moon so bright, withdrawing my eyes my nostalgi comes around.举头望明月，低头思故乡。 All are past and gone;we look to this age for truly great men.俱往昔，数风流人物，还看今朝。
A man of virtue helps others to achieve their moral perfection but not their evil conduct.君子成人之美，不成人之恶。
A righteous man never feels ashamed to face his shadow when standing alone and to face his soul when sleeping alone.君子独立不惭于影，独寝不惭于魂。
If a gentleman can be free from temptation of profit at the cost of justice, no shame or disgrace will ever befall him.君子苟能无以利害义，则耻辱亦无由至矣。
A righteous man seeks truth, not wealth, and worries about truth, not about dearth.君子谋道不谋食，忧道不忧贫。 A gentleman seeks neither a full belly nor a comfortable home. Instead, he is quick in action and cautious in speech. He follows those of virtue in order to rectify himself. Such a man may indeed be considered fond of learning.君子食无求饱，居无求安，敏于事而慎于言，就有道而正焉，可谓好学矣。
The friendship between men of virtue is light like water, yet richly affectionate; the friendship between men without virtue is sweet like wine, yet easily broken.君子之交淡如水小人之交甘如醴。君子淡以亲，小人甘于绝。
Noble or humble, rich or poor, a gentleman would rather be
killed than be persuaded to do evils.可贵可贱也，可富可贫也，可杀而不可使为奸。
Work diligently for the country and frugally for the family.克勤于邦，克俭于家。
He is the modest man of all the modest who toils but does not boast it and suceeds but does not credit it.劳而不伐，有功而不德，厚之至也。
Strive to be the first to hear hardness, and retreat to the last for enjoyment.劳苦之事则争先，饶乐之事则能让。
Respect the aged in one’s own family as well as the aged in other families, and love the young in one’s own family as well as the young in other families.老吾老以及人之老，幼吾幼以及人之幼。
When one rejoices in the joy of his people, they will also rejoice in his joy; when one grieves at the sorrow of his people, they do the same. He who rules his country is one one who occupies himself with concerns for the pleasure and sorrow of all his people. 乐民之乐者，民亦乐其乐；忧民之忧者，民亦忧其忧。乐以天下，忧以天下，然而不王者未之有也。
Propriety damands reciprocity. It is not propriety to give but not to receive, or vice visa.礼尚往来。往而不来，非礼也；来而不往，亦非礼也。
If love between both sides can last for eye, why need they stay together night and day.两情若是长久时，有岂在朝朝暮暮。
Act when orderd, and stop when prohibited.令则行，禁则止。 The way ahead is long and has no ending;yet high and low I’ll search with my will unbending路漫漫其修远兮，吾将上下而求索。
Disorder brings peril to a country, while order brings peace to it.乱则国危，治则国安。
The people are the most important element in a state;next are the goals of land and grain;least is the ruler himself.民为贵，社稷次之，君为轻。
Quick-minded and eager to learn, he is never ashamed to consult his inferiors.敏而好学，不耻下问。
Work as day breaks, and rest as night falls;never will a day slip away without any accomplishmment.明而动，晦而休，无日以怠。
Nothing in the world excels in beauty as simplicity does.朴素而天下莫能与之争美。
A long dike will collapse because of an ant-hole in it; a tall building will be burned down because of a spark from a chmney’s chink.千里之堤，以蝼蚁之 溃；百尺之室，以突隙之烟焚。
If you carve but give up half way, even a decayed piece of wood will not break; if you carve without a break, even
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metal and stone can be engraed.锲而舍之，朽木不折；锲而不舍，金石可镂。
To be part is to be while; to be bent is to be straight; to be hollow is to be filled; to be dilapidated is to be renewed; to have less is to gain; to have more is to be confused.曲则全，枉则直；洼则盈，敝则新；少则多，多则惑。
Laziness and extravagance make a poor man, whil diligence and frugality a rich man.人惰而侈则穷，力而俭则富。 Men have sorrow and joy; they part and meet again. The moon dims or shines; it waxes or wanes. Nothing is perfect, not even in the old days.人有悲欢离合，月有阴晴圆缺，此事古难全。
Learning and culture are to a man what polishing and grinding are to jade.人之于文学也，犹玉之于琢磨也。 Among any three men walking, I will find something to learn for sure. Their good qualities are to be followed, and their shortcomings are to be avoided.三人行，必有我师焉。择其善者而从之，其不善者而改之。
He who is keen in learning takes other people’s fortes to make up his own defects.善学者，假人之长以补其短。 He who is good at learning exhausts the principles. He who is good at practising seeks to solve the most difficult problems.善学者尽其理，善行者究其难。
Do what toils the body but eases the mind, and do what brings less profits but more justice.身劳而心安，为之；利少而义多，为之。
A stone may be crushed, but not to be deprived of its hardness; a cinnabar may be grounded to pieces but not to be deprived of its redness.石可破也，而不可夺坚；丹可磨也，而不可夺赤。
An educated gentleman cannot but the resolute and broad-minded, for he has taken up a heavy resposibility and a long course. Is it not a heavy resposibility, which is to practice benevolence? Is it not a long course, which will end only with his death? 士不可以不弘毅，任重而道远。仁以为己任，不亦重乎？死而后矣，不亦远乎？
A moral intellectual is one who escapes no danger in face of truth, discards personal interests in front of disaster, practices righteousness at the expense of life, and looks upon death as going home.士之为人，当理不避其难，临患忘利，遗生行义，视死如归。
The passage of time is just like the flow of water, which goes on day and night.逝者如斯夫！不舍昼夜。
Fire and water possess a spirit but no life, grass and trees possess a life but no awareness, birds and animals possess awareness but no sense of morality. Only humans possess spririt, life, awareness, as well as the sense of mrality, hence the noblest beings in the world.水火有气而无生，草木有生
而无知，禽兽有知而无义；人有气，有生，有知，亦且有义，故最为天下贵也。
Without sufficient depth, no water can float large boats. Without sufficient density, no wind can support large birds.水之积也不厚，则其负大舟也无力；风之积也不厚，则其负大翼也无力。
Those who follow the Heaven’s law will flourish and those who ga against it will perish.顺我者昌，逆我者亡。
Delicious as my the food be, one never knowsits taste except eating it; perfect as may the course be, one never knows its goodness except learning it. Thus it is after learning that one knows his deficiency, and after teaching one discovers his confusion. Knowing of his deficiency stimulates him into self-examnation; and discovery of his confusion leads him to self-examination; and discovery of his confusion leads him to self-improving. That’s why we say teaching and learning encourage each other.虽有家肴，弗食不知其旨也；虽有至道，弗学不知其善也；是故学然后知不足，教然后知困。知不足，然后能自反也；知困，然后能自强也。故曰教学相长也。
It is the way of Heaven to lessen the full to complement the humble, and the way of earth to change the full to replenish the humble, and the way of man to hate the full to cherish the humble.天道亏盈而益谦，地道变盈而流谦，人道恶盈而好谦。
Man is the most valuble among all the things that heaven fosters. 天生万物，唯人为贵。
Heaven has endowed me with talents for eventual use.天生我才必有用。
Opportunities vouchsafed by Heaven are outmatched by terrestrial advantages, which in turn are outmatched by the harmony among people. 天时不如地利，地利不如人和。 As heaven’s movement is ever vigorous, so must a gentleman ceaselessly strive along. 天行健，君子以自强不息。
Listening without attention is not hearing; then falsehood follows. Lookng without examination is not seeing; then errors follow. Considering without intention is not knowing; then confusion follows.听不审不聪，不审不聪则谬；视不察不明，不察不明则过；虑不得不知，不得不知则昏。 Words are to be judged from their function; and deeds are to be observed from their effects.听其言必责其用，观其行必求其功。
All thing creatures grow together without harming one another; ways run parallel without interfering with one another. 万物并育而不相害，道并行而不相悖。
He who is able to reach new understanding by rviewing the old knowledge is qualified to be a teacher.温故而知新，可以
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为师也。
Don’t do what should not be done; don’t desire what should not be desired.无为其所不为，无欲其所不欲。
Every day I examine myself time and again:have I been unfaithful in giving counsels to others? Have I been insincere in getting along with my friends? Have I failed to review what I have been taught?.吾日三省吾身；为人谋而不忠乎？与朋友交而不信乎？传而不信乎？
Things investigated, genuine knowledge acquired; genuine knowledge acquired, thoughts purified; thughts purified, hearts rectified; hearts rectified, personalities cultivated; personalities cultivated, familyies regulaed; famiies regulated, the states well governed; the states well governed, the whole world will be in peace and tranquility. 物格而后知至，知至而后意诚；意诚而后心正，心正而后身修；身修而后家齐，家齐而后治国，国治而后天下平。
He who puts righeousness before profits is respectable; he who puts profits before righteousness is discreditable.先义而后利者荣，先利而后义者辱。
It is unbearable to meet as well as to depart. 相见时难别亦难。
Distance cannot separate true friends who feel so close even when they are thousands of miles apart.相知无远近，万里尚为临。
A mean man thinks that small virtues are useless and does not practice them, and small vices are harmless and does not abandon them. Hence his vice accumulate till they cannot be covered, and his guilt becomes great till it can not be freed from.小人以小善为无益而弗为也，以小恶为无伤而弗去也，故恶积而不可掩，罪大而不可解。
True words need not be fine-sounding; the good man does not prove be argument. 信言不美，善者不辩。
There is never an end to learning. The dye extracted from the indigo is bluer than the plant; so is the ice clouder than the water. By broadly learning and constantly examining himself every day, the gentleman sharpens his awareness and makes fewer mistakes.学不可以已。青取之于蓝；冰，水为之，而寒于水。君子博学而日参省乎己，则知明而行过矣。 Learning without thinking leads to confusion; thinking without learning ends in danger.学而不思则罔，思而不学则殆。
Never be contented with your study. Never be impatient with your teaching.学而不厌，诲人不倦。
Learning is like rowing upstream: not to advance is to drop back.学如逆水行舟，不进则退。
It is good speech that talks near but signifies far; it is a good way that operates restrictedly but applies widely.言近而指远者，善言也；守约而施博者，善道也。
Words without content will not reach far and wide.言之无文，行而不远。
Cutting off a foot-long club by half every day will not exhaust it any day.一尺之棰，日取其半，万世不竭。 Clapping with one hand, however fast, makes no sound.一手独拍，虽疾无声。
A good citizen in one community will befriend the other citizens of the community; a good citizen of the world will bwfriend the other citizens of he world.一乡之善士斯友一乡之善士，天下之善士斯友天下之善士。
It is such a delight to have friends coming so far.有朋自远方来，不亦乐乎。
In piece, think of danger; in prosperity, think of poverty;in gain, think of loss.于安思危，于达思穷，于德思丧。
As a jade without chiseling will not become a useful object, a man without learning will not know the way.玉不琢，不成器。人不学，不知道。
Prosper your country before you prosper your family.欲富尔家，先富尔国。
We widen our views three hundred miles by ascending one flight of stairs. /exhausting my eyes to a thousand li further, I am ascending one more story of the tower.欲穷千里目，更上一层楼。
In heaven let us be two birds flying ever together, and on earth two trees with branches interlocked forever.在天愿做比翼鸟，在地愿为连理枝。
Knowing both the enemy and yourself ,you are sure to win every battle;knowing yourself but not the enemy, you’ll have equal chance to win or to lose; knowing neither your enemy nor yourself, you are destined to lose all battles.知彼知己，百战不殆；不知彼而知己，一胜一负；不知彼，不知己，每战必殆。
One’s true knowledge lies in recognizing what one knows and what one does not know.知之为知之，不知为不知，是知也。
All people, whether superior or inferor, should be abide by royalty, trustworthiness sincerity and respectfulness, which is the way of heaven.忠信笃敬，上下同之，天之道也。
He who is dignified and respectable can be a teacher; he who is aged and trustworthy can be a teacher; he who can explain the classics without excess or distortion can be a teacher; he who knows the profundity and speaks systematically can be a teacher. Hence four kinds of men can make teachers, and a man with merely a broad knowledge is not among them.
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