三思而行

sān sī ér xíng

think twice before you act

Character by character

三sān
three times

思sī
think

而ér
then

行xíng
act

这件事关系重大，你要三思而行。

This is a big deal, so think twice before you act.

Tone: positive (praise).

From the Analects: Ji Wenzi thought three times before acting, and Confucius said twice was enough.

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