人之將死，其言也善

Chinese

		man; person; people	's; him/her/it; this	a general; (will, shall, "future tense"); ready a general; (will, shall, "future tense"); ready; prepared; to get; to use	to die; impassable; uncrossable to die; impassable; uncrossable; inflexible; rigid		his; her; its his; her; its; theirs; that; such; it (refers to sth preceding it)	to speak; to say; talk to speak; to say; talk; word	also; too	good
trad. (人之將死，其言也善)		人	之	將	死	，	其	言	也	善
simp. (人之将死，其言也善)		人	之	将	死	，	其	言	也	善

Etymology

From the Analects, Book 8 (《論語·泰伯》):

「曾子有疾，孟敬子問之。曾子言曰：『鳥之將死，其鳴也哀；人之將死，其言也善。』」 [Classical Chinese, trad.]

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「曾子有疾，孟敬子问之。曾子言曰：『鸟之将死，其鸣也哀；人之将死，其言也善。』」 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: The Analects of Confucius, c. 475 – 221 BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

“Zēngzǐ yǒu jí, Mèng Jìng Zǐ wèn zhī. Zēngzǐ yán yuē: ‘Niǎo zhī jiāng sǐ, qí míng yě āi; rén zhī jiāng sǐ, qí yán yě shàn.’” [Pinyin]

The philosopher Zeng being ill, Meng Jing went to ask how he was. Zeng said to him, "When a bird is about to die, its notes are mournful; when a man is about to die, his words are good."

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): rén zhī jiāng sǐ, qí yán yě shàn

  (Zhuyin): ㄖㄣˊ ㄓ ㄐㄧㄤ ㄙˇ , ㄑㄧˊ ㄧㄢˊ ㄧㄝˇ ㄕㄢˋ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): jan⁴ zi¹ zoeng¹ sei², kei⁴ jin⁴ jaa⁵ sin⁶

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: rén zhī jiāng sǐ, qí yán yě shàn
    • Zhuyin: ㄖㄣˊ ㄓ ㄐㄧㄤ ㄙˇ , ㄑㄧˊ ㄧㄢˊ ㄧㄝˇ ㄕㄢˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: rén jhih jiang sǐh, cí yán yě shàn
    • Wade–Giles: jên² chih¹ chiang¹ ssŭ³, chʻi² yen² yeh³ shan⁴
    • Yale: rén jr̄ jyāng sž-, chí yán yě shàn
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: ren jy jiang syy, chyi yan yee shann
    • Palladius: жэнь чжи цзян сы, ци янь е шань (žɛnʹ čži czjan sy, ci janʹ je šanʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʐən³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ t͡ɕi̯ɑŋ⁵⁵ sz̩²¹⁴⁻²¹ t͡ɕʰi³⁵ jɛn³⁵ jɛ²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʂän⁵¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: jan⁴ zi¹ zoeng¹ sei², kei⁴ jin⁴ jaa⁵ sin⁶
    • Yale: yàhn jī jēung séi, kèih yìhn yáh sihn
    • Cantonese Pinyin: jan⁴ dzi¹ dzoeng¹ sei², kei⁴ jin⁴ jaa⁵ sin⁶
    • Guangdong Romanization: yen⁴ ji¹ zêng¹ séi², kéi⁴ yin⁴ ya⁵ xin⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /jɐn²¹ t͡siː⁵⁵ t͡sœːŋ⁵⁵ sei̯³⁵ kʰei̯²¹ jiːn²¹ jaː¹³ siːn²²/

Proverb

人之將死，其言也善

1. A person's words are kind when death is near.