渇しても盗泉の水を飲まず（かっしてもとうせんのみずをのまず）

Japanese vocabulary

Meaning: better starve than fatten on ill-gotten wealth; don't lower yourself to unjust acts, no matter how desperate you are; refraining to drink from a spring called Robber's Spring even if thirsty

See it used in real works

• Example sentences from Japanese novels & web fiction (Massif)
• Hear “渇しても盗泉の水を飲まず” pronounced in real videos (YouGlish)