타산지석

Korean

Etymology

Sino-Korean word from 他 (“other”) + 山 (“mountain”) + 之 (“possessive particle”) + 石 (“stone”). From the Classic of Poetry:

他山之石，可以攻玉。 [Korean Literary Sinitic, trad.]

From: The Classic of Poetry, 11th—7th centuries BCE, with Korean hyeonto and James Legge’s translation

타산지석^(이) 가이공옥^(이라)
Ta san ji seog[-i] gai gong’og[-ira]. [Sino-Korean]

The stones of those hills, may be used to polish gems.

In the later Confucian exegetical tradition, the stones were understood as an allusion to men of lesser moral worth, and jade to the virtuous.

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [tʰa̠sʰa̠ɲd͡ʑisʰʌ̹k̚]
• Phonetic hangul: [타산지석]

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	tasanjiseok
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	tasanjiseog
McCune–Reischauer?	t'asanjisŏk
Yale Romanization?	thasan.cisek

Noun

타산지석 • (tasanjiseok) (hanja 他山之石)

1. (four-character idiom from Classical Chinese) trait, typically seemingly minor or negative, of another person or group which can nonetheless serve as a lesson for oneself

   그의 실수를 타산지석으로 삼아야 할 것이다.

   Geu-ui silsu-reul tasanjiseog-euro sama-ya hal geos-ida.

   We must take his mistake as a lesson for ourselves.