未雨綢繆
See also: 未雨绸缪
Chinese
not yet; 8th earthly branch; 1–3 p.m. | rain | bound tightly; bound round and round; winding round | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
trad. (未雨綢繆) | 未 | 雨 | 綢繆 | |
simp. (未雨绸缪) | 未 | 雨 | 绸缪 | |
Literally: “before it rains, bind around with silk”. |
Etymology
From the Classic of Poetry:
- 迨天之未陰雨,徹彼桑土,綢繆牖戶。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, trad.]
- From: The Classic of Poetry, c. 11th – 7th centuries BCE, translated based on James Legge's version
- Dài tiān zhī wèi yīnyǔ, chè bǐ sāngdù, chóumóu yǒuhù. [Pinyin]
- Before the sky was dark with rain,
I gathered the roots of the mulberry tree,
And bound round and round my window and door.
迨天之未阴雨,彻彼桑土,绸缪牖户。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, simp.]
Pronunciation
- Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)+
- Hanyu Pinyin:
- Zhuyin: ㄨㄟˋ ㄩˇ ㄔㄡˊ ㄇㄡˊ
- Tongyong Pinyin: wèiyǔchóumóu
- Wade–Giles: wei4-yü3-chʻou2-mou2
- Yale: wèi-yǔ-chóu-móu
- Gwoyeu Romatzyh: weyyeuchourmou
- Palladius: вэйюйчоумоу (vɛjjujčoumou)
- Sinological IPA (key): /weɪ̯⁵¹ y²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʈ͡ʂʰoʊ̯³⁵ moʊ̯³⁵/
- (Standard Chinese)+
- Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
- Jyutping: mei6 jyu5 cau4 mau4
- Yale: meih yúh chàuh màuh
- Cantonese Pinyin: mei6 jy5 tsau4 mau4
- Guangdong Romanization: méi6 yu5 ceo4 meo4
- Sinological IPA (key): /mei̯²² jyː¹³ t͡sʰɐu̯²¹ mɐu̯²¹/
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
Idiom
(deprecated template usage) 未雨綢繆
- (figurative) to plan ahead; to prepare before it is too late
- 宜未雨而綢繆,毋臨渴而掘井。 [Literary Chinese, trad.]
- From: Zhu Yongchun, Zhu Zi's Family Maxims, 17th century CE
- Yí wèi yǔ ér chóumóu, wú lín kě ér jué jǐng. [Pinyin]
- One should, when it is not yet raining, bind tightly the window. One should not wait until one is thirsty to dig a well.
i.e. One should prepare before it is too late.
宜未雨而绸缪,毋临渴而掘井。 [Literary Chinese, simp.]
Antonyms
Descendants
Japanese
Kanji in this term | |||
---|---|---|---|
未 | 雨 | 綢 | 繆 |
み Grade: 4 |
う Grade: 1 |
ちゅう Hyōgaiji |
びゅう Hyōgaiji |
on’yomi |
Alternative forms
- 綢繆未雨 (ちゅうびゅうみう, chūbyūmiu)
Idiom
- to prepare before it is too late
Antonyms
Categories:
- Literary Chinese terms with quotations
- Chinese lemmas
- Mandarin lemmas
- Cantonese lemmas
- Chinese four-character idioms
- Mandarin four-character idioms
- Cantonese four-character idioms
- Chinese idioms
- Mandarin idioms
- Cantonese idioms
- Chinese terms with IPA pronunciation
- Japanese terms spelled with 未 read as み
- Japanese terms spelled with 雨 read as う
- Japanese terms spelled with 綢
- Japanese terms spelled with 繆
- Japanese terms read with on'yomi
- Japanese lemmas
- Japanese idioms
- Japanese terms spelled with fourth grade kanji
- Japanese terms spelled with first grade kanji
- Japanese terms spelled with hyōgaiji kanji
- Japanese terms written with four Han script characters
- Yojijukugo