工欲善其事,必先利其器
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Chinese
[edit]work; worker; skill work; worker; skill; profession; trade; craft; labour |
desire; longing; appetite desire; longing; appetite; wish |
good | his; her; its his; her; its; theirs; that; such; it (refers to sth preceding it) |
matter; thing; item matter; thing; item; work; affair |
certainly; must; will certainly; must; will; necessarily |
early; prior; former early; prior; former; in advance; first |
advantage; benefit; profit advantage; benefit; profit; sharp |
his; her; its his; her; its; theirs; that; such; it (refers to sth preceding it) |
device; tool; utensil | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
trad. (工欲善其事,必先利其器) | 工 | 欲 | 善 | 其 | 事 | , | 必 | 先 | 利 | 其 | 器 | |
simp. #(工欲善其事,必先利其器) | 工 | 欲 | 善 | 其 | 事 | , | 必 | 先 | 利 | 其 | 器 | |
Literally: “If a workman wishes to do a good job, he must first sharpen his tools.” |
Etymology
[edit]From the Analects, Book 15 (《論語·衞靈公》):
- 子貢問為仁。子曰:「工欲善其事,必先利其器。居是邦也,事其大夫之賢者,友其士之仁者。」 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
- From: The Analects of Confucius, c. 475 – 221 BCE, translated based on James Legge's version
- Zǐgòng wèn wéi rén. Zǐ yuē: “Gōng yù shàn qí shì, bì xiān lì qí qì. Jū shì bāng yě, shì qí dàfū zhī xián zhě, yǒu qí shì zhī rén zhě.” [Pinyin]
- Zigong asked about the practice of virtue.
The Master said, "The mechanic, who wishes to do his work well, must first sharpen his tools. When you are living in any state, take service with the most worthy among its great officers, and make friends of the most virtuous among its scholars."
子贡问为仁。子曰:「工欲善其事,必先利其器。居是邦也,事其大夫之贤者,友其士之仁者。」 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
Pronunciation
[edit]- Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)+
- Hanyu Pinyin:
- Zhuyin: ㄍㄨㄥ ㄩˋ ㄕㄢˋ ㄑㄧˊ ㄕˋ , ㄅㄧˋ ㄒㄧㄢ ㄌㄧˋ ㄑㄧˊ ㄑㄧˋ
- Tongyong Pinyin: gong yù shàn cí shìh, bì sian lì cí cì
- Wade–Giles: kung1 yü4 shan4 chʻi2 shih4, pi4 hsien1 li4 chʻi2 chʻi4
- Yale: gūng yù shàn chí shr̀-, bì syān lì chí chì
- Gwoyeu Romatzyh: gong yuh shann chyi shyh, bih shian lih chyi chih
- Palladius: гун юй шань ци ши, би сянь ли ци ци (gun juj šanʹ ci ši, bi sjanʹ li ci ci)
- Sinological IPA (key): /kʊŋ⁵⁵ y⁵¹⁻⁵³ ʂän⁵¹ t͡ɕʰi³⁵ ʂʐ̩⁵¹⁻⁵³ pi⁵¹ ɕi̯ɛn⁵⁵ li⁵¹ t͡ɕʰi³⁵ t͡ɕʰi⁵¹/
- (Standard Chinese)+
- Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
- Jyutping: gung1 juk6 sin6 kei4 si6, bit1 sin1 lei6 kei4 hei3
- Yale: gūng yuhk sihn kèih sih, bīt sīn leih kèih hei
- Cantonese Pinyin: gung1 juk9 sin6 kei4 si6, bit7 sin1 lei6 kei4 hei3
- Guangdong Romanization: gung1 yug6 xin6 kéi4 xi6, bid1 xin1 léi6 kéi4 héi3
- Sinological IPA (key): /kʊŋ⁵⁵ jʊk̚² siːn²² kʰei̯²¹ siː²² piːt̚⁵ siːn⁵⁵ lei̯²² kʰei̯²¹ hei̯³³/
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
Proverb
[edit]工欲善其事,必先利其器
- One must have good tools in order to do a good job.
Categories:
- Literary Chinese terms with quotations
- Chinese lemmas
- Mandarin lemmas
- Cantonese lemmas
- Chinese proverbs
- Mandarin proverbs
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- Chinese terms with IPA pronunciation
- Chinese terms spelled with 工
- Chinese terms spelled with 欲
- Chinese terms spelled with 善
- Chinese terms spelled with 其
- Chinese terms spelled with 事
- Chinese terms spelled with 必
- Chinese terms spelled with 先
- Chinese terms spelled with 利
- Chinese terms spelled with 器
- Chinese terms derived from the Analects