沉魚落雁

See also: 沉鱼落雁

Chinese

		submerge; immerse; sink submerge; immerse; sink; deep; profound; to lower; to drop	fish	to fall; to drop (behind); leave behind	wild goose
trad. (沉魚落雁)		沉	魚	落	雁
simp. (沉鱼落雁)		沉	鱼	落	雁
alternative forms		沈魚落雁

Etymology

From Zhuangzi ("Discussion on Making All Things Equal"):

Mao Qiang and Li Ji [courtesans and two of the Four Beauties] are what people consider beautiful, but if fish see them they will swim into the depths; if birds see them, they will fly away into the air; if deer see them, they will gallop away. Among these four, who knows what is rightly beautiful in the world?

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): chényúluòyàn

  (Zhuyin): ㄔㄣˊ ㄩˊ ㄌㄨㄛˋ ㄧㄢˋ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): cam⁴ jyu⁴ lok⁶ ngaan⁶

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: chényúluòyàn
    • Zhuyin: ㄔㄣˊ ㄩˊ ㄌㄨㄛˋ ㄧㄢˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: chényúluòyàn
    • Wade–Giles: chʻên²-yü²-lo⁴-yen⁴
    • Yale: chén-yú-lwò-yàn
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: chernyuluohyann
    • Palladius: чэньюйлоянь (čɛnʹjujlojanʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʈ͡ʂʰən³⁵ y³⁵ lu̯ɔ⁵¹⁻⁵³ jɛn⁵¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: cam⁴ jyu⁴ lok⁶ ngaan⁶
    • Yale: chàhm yùh lohk ngaahn
    • Cantonese Pinyin: tsam⁴ jy⁴ lok⁹ ngaan⁶
    • Guangdong Romanization: cem⁴ yu⁴ log⁶ ngan⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰɐm²¹ jyː²¹ lɔːk̚² ŋaːn²²/

Idiom

(deprecated template usage) 沉魚落雁

1. (of women) extremely beautiful; drop-dead gorgeous

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (沈魚落雁 (chényúluòyàn)):

• → Japanese: 沈魚落雁(ちんぎょらくがん) (chingyorakugan)
• → Korean: 침어낙안(沈魚落雁) (chimeonagan)