朽木不可雕

Chinese

		rotten wood; hopeless case; good-for-nothing	cannot; should not; must not	engrave; shrewd
trad. (朽木不可雕)		朽木	不可	雕
simp. #(朽木不可雕)		朽木	不可	雕
Literally: “One cannot make a carving from rotten wood.”

Etymology

From the Analects of Confucius:

朽木不可雕也，糞土之牆不可杇也！于予與何誅？ [Classical Chinese, trad.]

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朽木不可雕也，粪土之墙不可杇也！于予与何诛？ [Classical Chinese, simp.]

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

Xiǔmù bùkě diāo yě, fèntǔ zhī qiáng bùkě wū yě! Yú Yǔ yǔ hé zhū? [Pinyin]

Rotten wood cannot be carved; a wall of dirty earth will not receive the trowel. This Yu! - what is the use of my reproving him?

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): xiǔmù bùkě diāo

  (Zhuyin): ㄒㄧㄡˇ ㄇㄨˋ ㄅㄨˋ ㄎㄜˇ ㄉㄧㄠ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): nau² muk⁶ bat¹ ho² diu¹

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: xiǔmù bùkě diāo
    • Zhuyin: ㄒㄧㄡˇ ㄇㄨˋ ㄅㄨˋ ㄎㄜˇ ㄉㄧㄠ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: siǒumù bùkě diao
    • Wade–Giles: hsiu³-mu⁴ pu⁴-kʻo³ tiao¹
    • Yale: syǒu-mù bù-kě dyāu
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: sheoumuh bukee diau
    • Palladius: сюму букэ дяо (sjumu bukɛ djao)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɕi̯oʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ mu⁵¹⁻⁵³ pu⁵¹ kʰɤ²¹⁴⁻²¹ ti̯ɑʊ̯⁵⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: nau² muk⁶ bat¹ ho² diu¹
    • Yale: náu muhk bāt hó dīu
    • Cantonese Pinyin: nau² muk⁹ bat⁷ ho² diu¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: neo² mug⁶ bed¹ ho² diu¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /nɐu̯³⁵ mʊk̚² pɐt̚⁵ hɔː³⁵ tiːu̯⁵⁵/

Proverb

1. You can’t get pete from a tree; You can’t teach a student that doesn’t have the aptitude.

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (朽木不可雕):

• → Vietnamese: hủ mộc bất khả điêu (朽木不可雕)

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Vietnamese

chữ Hán Nôm in this term
朽	木	不	可	雕

Idiom

朽木不可雕

1. chữ Hán form of hủ mộc bất khả điêu.