心有餘而力不足

Chinese

		heart; mind	to have an abundance; odd; about to have an abundance; odd; about; or so	and; as well as; but (not) and; as well as; but (not); yet (not); (shows causal relation); (shows change of state); (shows contrast)	power; force; strength	insufficient; inadequate; lacking insufficient; inadequate; lacking; inadequacy; deficiency; dearth; shortage; want; lack; not enough
trad. (心有餘而力不足)		心	有餘	而	力	不足
simp. (心有余而力不足)		心	有余	而	力	不足

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): xīn yǒuyú ér lì bùzú

  (Zhuyin): ㄒㄧㄣ ㄧㄡˇ ㄩˊ ㄦˊ ㄌㄧˋ ㄅㄨˋ ㄗㄨˊ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): sam¹ jau⁵ jyu⁴ ji⁴ lik⁶ bat¹ zuk¹

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: xīn yǒuyú ér lì bùzú
    • Zhuyin: ㄒㄧㄣ ㄧㄡˇ ㄩˊ ㄦˊ ㄌㄧˋ ㄅㄨˋ ㄗㄨˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: sin yǒuyú ér lì bùzú
    • Wade–Giles: hsin¹ yu³-yü² êrh² li⁴ pu⁴-tsu²
    • Yale: syīn yǒu-yú ér lì bù-dzú
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shin yeouyu erl lih butzwu
    • Palladius: синь ююй эр ли буцзу (sinʹ jujuj er li buczu)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɕin⁵⁵ joʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ y³⁵ ˀɤɻ³⁵ li⁵¹⁻⁵³ pu⁵¹ t͡su³⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: sam¹ jau⁵ jyu⁴ ji⁴ lik⁶ bat¹ zuk¹
    • Yale: sām yáuh yùh yìh lihk bāt jūk
    • Cantonese Pinyin: sam¹ jau⁵ jy⁴ ji⁴ lik⁹ bat⁷ dzuk⁷
    • Guangdong Romanization: sem¹ yeo⁵ yu⁴ yi⁴ lig⁶ bed¹ zug¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /sɐm⁵⁵ jɐu̯¹³ jyː²¹ jiː²¹ lɪk̚² pɐt̚⁵ t͡sʊk̚⁵/

Idiom

心有餘而力不足

1. the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak; to be unable to do what one wants very much to do; to have the ambition but lack the ability
   • 16th century, 王陽明, “告諭軍民”, in 王文成公全書, volume 卷第十七:

     本院心有餘而力不足，聊布此苦切之情於爾百姓。 [Literary Chinese, trad.]
     本院心有余而力不足，聊布此苦切之情于尔百姓。 [Literary Chinese, simp.]

     Běn yuàn xīn yǒuyú ér lì bùzú, liáo bù cǐ kǔqiè zhī qíng yú ěr bǎixìng. [Pinyin]

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

   • 18th century, Cao Xueqin, chapter 78, in Dream of the Red Chamber:

     賈政冷笑道：「你有多大本領！上頭說了一句大開門的散話，如今又要一句連轉帶煞，豈不心有餘而力不足呢？」 [Written Vernacular Chinese, trad.]
     贾政冷笑道：「你有多大本领！上头说了一句大开门的散话，如今又要一句连转带煞，岂不心有余而力不足呢？」 [Written Vernacular Chinese, simp.]

     Jiǎ Zhèng lěngxiào dào: “Nǐ yǒu duō dà běnlǐng! Shàngtou shuō le yī jù dà kāi mén de sǎn huà, rújīn yòu yào yī jù lián zhuǎn dài shā, qǐ bù xīn yǒuyú ér lì bùzú ne?” [Pinyin]

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Synonyms

• 心餘力絀／心余力绌 (xīnyúlìchù)
• 力不從心／力不从心 (lìbùcóngxīn)