不自由毋寧死

Chinese

		not; no	free; unconstrained; freelance	rather; preferably	to die; impassable; uncrossable to die; impassable; uncrossable; inflexible; rigid
trad. (不自由毋寧死)		不	自由	毋寧	死
simp. (不自由毋宁死)		不	自由	毋宁	死
alternative forms		不自由無寧死／不自由无宁死

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): bù zìyóu wúnìng sǐ, bù zìyóu wúníng sǐ

  (Zhuyin): ㄅㄨˋ ㄗˋ ㄧㄡˊ ㄨˊ ㄋㄧㄥˋ ㄙˇ, ㄅㄨˋ ㄗˋ ㄧㄡˊ ㄨˊ ㄋㄧㄥˊ ㄙˇ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): bat¹ zi⁶ jau⁴ mou⁴ ning⁴ sei²

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese, Mainland)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: bù zìyóu wúnìng sǐ [Phonetic: bú zìyóu wúnìng sǐ]
    • Zhuyin: ㄅㄨˋ ㄗˋ ㄧㄡˊ ㄨˊ ㄋㄧㄥˋ ㄙˇ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: bù zìhyóu wúnìng sǐh
    • Wade–Giles: pu⁴ tzŭ⁴-yu² wu²-ning⁴ ssŭ³
    • Yale: bù dz̀-yóu wú-nìng sž
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: bu tzyhyou wuninq syy
    • Palladius: бу цзыю унин сы (bu czyju unin sy)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /pu⁵¹⁻³⁵ t͡sz̩⁵¹ joʊ̯³⁵ u³⁵ niŋ⁵¹ sz̩²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
      
  • (Standard Chinese, Taiwan)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: bù zìyóu wúníng sǐ [Phonetic: bú zìyóu wúníng sǐ]
    • Zhuyin: ㄅㄨˋ ㄗˋ ㄧㄡˊ ㄨˊ ㄋㄧㄥˊ ㄙˇ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: bù zìhyóu wúníng sǐh
    • Wade–Giles: pu⁴ tzŭ⁴-yu² wu²-ning² ssŭ³
    • Yale: bù dz̀-yóu wú-níng sž
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: bu tzyhyou wuning syy
    • Palladius: бу цзыю унин сы (bu czyju unin sy)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /pu⁵¹⁻³⁵ t͡sz̩⁵¹ joʊ̯³⁵ u³⁵ niŋ³⁵ sz̩²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: bat¹ zi⁶ jau⁴ mou⁴ ning⁴ sei²
    • Yale: bāt jih yàuh mòuh nìhng séi
    • Cantonese Pinyin: bat⁷ dzi⁶ jau⁴ mou⁴ ning⁴ sei²
    • Guangdong Romanization: bed¹ ji⁶ yeo⁴ mou⁴ ning⁴ séi²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /pɐt̚⁵ t͡siː²² jɐu̯²¹ mou̯²¹ nɪŋ²¹ sei̯³⁵/

Proverb

不自由毋寧死

1. Give me liberty or give me death.

   • 語曰：「不自由，無寧死！」然則暫有自由之一日而明日自刎其喉，猶所願也，況綿延至於三四十年乎！ [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     语曰：「不自由，无宁死！」然则暂有自由之一日而明日自刎其喉，犹所愿也，况绵延至于三四十年乎！ [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: 1903, 章太炎 (Zhang Taiyan), 《駁康有為論革命書》

     Yǔ yuē: “Bù zìyóu, wúnìng sǐ!” Ránzé zàn yǒu zìyóu zhī yīrì ér míngrì zìwěn qí hóu, yóu suǒ yuàn yě, kuàng miányán zhìyú sānsìshí nián hū! [Pinyin]

     There is a saying that goes, “Give me liberty or give me death.” So even if one were to be free for one day and commit suicide by cutting their throat the next day, it would be desirable, let alone for thirty or forty years!

References

• Patrick Henry on Wikiquote.Wikiquote