靠山山會崩，靠水水會焦

Chinese

		depend upon; lean on; near depend upon; lean on; near; by; against; to support	mountain; hill	mountain; hill	to meet; to gather; group to meet; to gather; group; to assemble; association; be able to; be likely to; to balance an account; accounting	collapse; fall into ruins		depend upon; lean on; near depend upon; lean on; near; by; against; to support	water; river	water; river	to meet; to gather; group to meet; to gather; group; to assemble; association; be able to; be likely to; to balance an account; accounting	burnt; scorched; worried burnt; scorched; worried; anxious
trad. (靠山山會崩，靠水水會焦)		靠	山	山	會	崩	，	靠	水	水	會	焦
simp. (靠山山会崩，靠水水会焦)		靠	山	山	会	崩	，	靠	水	水	会	焦
Literally: “When one relies on the mountain, the mountain may fall. When one relies on water, water may dry up.”

Pronunciation

• Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): Khò soaⁿ soaⁿ ē pang, khò chúi chúi ē ta

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• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Khò soaⁿ soaⁿ ē pang, khò chúi chúi ē ta
    • Tâi-lô: Khò suann suann ē pang, khò tsuí tsuí ē ta
    • IPA (Xiamen): /kʰo²¹⁻⁵³ suã⁴⁴ suã⁴⁴ e²²⁻²¹ paŋ⁴⁴ kʰo²¹⁻⁵³ t͡sui⁵³ t͡sui⁵³ e²²⁻²¹ ta⁴⁴/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /kʰo⁴¹⁻⁵⁵⁴ suã³³ suã³³ e⁴¹⁻²² paŋ³³ kʰo⁴¹⁻⁵⁵⁴ t͡sui⁵⁵⁴ t͡sui⁵⁵⁴ e⁴¹⁻²² ta³³/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /kʰo²¹⁻⁵³ suã⁴⁴ suã⁴⁴ e²²⁻²¹ paŋ⁴⁴ kʰo²¹⁻⁵³ t͡sui⁵³ t͡sui⁵³ e²²⁻²¹ ta⁴⁴/
    • IPA (Taipei): /kʰo¹¹⁻⁵³ suã⁴⁴ suã⁴⁴ e³³⁻¹¹ paŋ⁴⁴ kʰo¹¹⁻⁵³ t͡sui⁵³ t͡sui⁵³ e³³⁻¹¹ ta⁴⁴/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /kʰɤ²¹⁻⁴¹ suã⁴⁴ suã⁴⁴ e³³⁻²¹ paŋ⁴⁴ kʰɤ²¹⁻⁴¹ t͡sui⁴¹ t͡sui⁴¹ e³³⁻²¹ ta⁴⁴/

Proverb

靠山山會崩，靠水水會焦 (Hokkien)

1. If one only spends money without earning, it will be eventually used up no matter how much one has.
2. It is impossible to always rely on others because the environment is always changing, so one should strengthen one's own capabilities.

Synonyms

• (Hakka) 靠山山會倒，靠水水會燥，靠人人會老／靠山山会倒，靠水水会燥，靠人人会老

Further reading

• “Entry #60353”, in 臺灣閩南語常用詞辭典 (overall work in Mandarin and Hokkien), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2023.
• Definition by PTS Taigi