四體不勤，五穀不分

Chinese

		four limbs of a human; arms and legs	not; no	diligent; frequent		the Five Grains or Five Cereals	to not distinguish between
trad. (四體不勤，五穀不分)		四體	不	勤	，	五穀	不分
simp. (四体不勤，五谷不分)		四体	不	勤	，	五谷	不分
Literally: “One's four limbs never move and cannot distinguish the five kinds of cereals”.

Etymology

子路從而後，遇丈人以杖荷蓧。子路問曰：『子見夫子乎？』丈人曰：『四體不勤，五穀不分，孰為夫子？』 [Classical Chinese, trad.]

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子路从而后，遇丈人以杖荷𦰏。子路问曰：『子见夫子乎？』丈人曰：『四体不勤，五谷不分，孰为夫子？』 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: The Analects of Confucius, c. 475 – 221 BCE

Zǐlù cóng ér hòu, yù zhàngrén yǐ zhàng hé yóu. Zǐlù wèn yuē: ‘Zǐ jiàn fūzǐ hū?’ Zhàngrén yuē: ‘Sìtǐ bù qín, wǔgǔ bùfēn, shú wèi fūzǐ?’ [Pinyin]

When Zilu was following (the Master), he met an old man who was holding a weeding implement with a stick. Zilu asked, “Did you see my Master?” The man said, “You four limbs don't work, and you can't even distinguish the five kinds of cereals. Who is your master?”

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): sìtǐ bù qín, wǔgǔ bùfēn

  (Zhuyin): ㄙˋ ㄊㄧˇ ㄅㄨˋ ㄑㄧㄣˊ , ㄨˇ ㄍㄨˇ ㄅㄨˋ ㄈㄣ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): sei³ tai² bat¹ kan⁴, ng⁵ guk¹ bat¹ fan¹

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: sìtǐ bù qín, wǔgǔ bùfēn [Phonetic: sìtǐbùqín,wúgǔbùfēn]
    • Zhuyin: ㄙˋ ㄊㄧˇ ㄅㄨˋ ㄑㄧㄣˊ , ㄨˇ ㄍㄨˇ ㄅㄨˋ ㄈㄣ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: sìhtǐ bù cín, wǔgǔ bùfen
    • Wade–Giles: ssŭ⁴-tʻi³ pu⁴ chʻin², wu³-ku³ pu⁴-fên¹
    • Yale: sz̀-tǐ bù chín-, wǔ-gǔ bù-fēn
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: syhtii bu chyn, wuuguu bufen
    • Palladius: сыти бу цинь, угу буфэнь (syti bu cinʹ, ugu bufɛnʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /sz̩⁵¹ tʰi²¹⁴⁻²¹ pu⁵¹ t͡ɕʰin³⁵ u²¹⁴⁻³⁵ ku²¹⁴⁻²¹ pu⁵¹ fən⁵⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: sei³ tai² bat¹ kan⁴, ng⁵ guk¹ bat¹ fan¹
    • Yale: sei tái bāt kàhn, ńgh gūk bāt fān
    • Cantonese Pinyin: sei³ tai² bat⁷ kan⁴, ng⁵ guk⁷ bat⁷ fan¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: séi³ tei² bed¹ ken⁴, ng⁵ gug¹ bed¹ fen¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /sei̯³³ tʰɐi̯³⁵ pɐt̚⁵ kʰɐn²¹ ŋ̍¹³ kʊk̚⁵ pɐt̚⁵ fɐn⁵⁵/

Idiom

四體不勤，五穀不分

1. (of scholars) to be detached from practical life (e.g. by not engaging in manual labor) and lack practical knowledge and skills