望梅止渴
Chinese
hope; expect; to visit hope; expect; to visit; to gaze (into the distance); look towards; towards |
plum flower | to quench one's thirst | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
trad. (望梅止渴) | 望 | 梅 | 止渴 | |
simp. #(望梅止渴) | 望 | 梅 | 止渴 | |
Literally: “to quench one's thirst by thinking of plums”. |
Etymology
From the tale of the warlord Cao Cao deceiving his severely dehydrated troops with the promise of a forest of plums not far ahead.
Pronunciation
- Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)+
- Hanyu Pinyin:
- Zhuyin: ㄨㄤˋ ㄇㄟˊ ㄓˇ ㄎㄜˇ
- Tongyong Pinyin: wàngméijhǐhkě
- Wade–Giles: wang4-mei2-chih3-kʻo3
- Yale: wàng-méi-jř-kě
- Gwoyeu Romatzyh: wanqmeijyykee
- Palladius: ванмэйчжикэ (vanmɛjčžikɛ)
- Sinological IPA (key): /wɑŋ⁵¹ meɪ̯³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩²¹⁴⁻³⁵ kʰɤ²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
- (Standard Chinese)+
- Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
- Jyutping: mong6 mui4 zi2 hot3
- Yale: mohng mùih jí hot
- Cantonese Pinyin: mong6 mui4 dzi2 hot8
- Guangdong Romanization: mong6 mui4 ji2 hod3
- Sinological IPA (key): /mɔːŋ²² muːi̯²¹ t͡siː³⁵ hɔːt̚³/
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
Idiom
(deprecated template usage) 望梅止渴