取之不盡，用之不竭

Chinese

		to take; to get; to choose to take; to get; to choose; to fetch	's; him/her/it; this	not; no	to use up; to exhaust; to end to use up; to exhaust; to end; to finish; to the utmost; exhausted; finished; to the limit (of sth)		to use	's; him/her/it; this	not; no	exhaust
trad. (取之不盡，用之不竭)		取	之	不	盡	，	用	之	不	竭
simp. (取之不尽，用之不竭)		取	之	不	尽	，	用	之	不	竭

Etymology

From the Former Ode on the Red Cliffs by Su Shi, in the form 「取之無禁，用之不竭」.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): qǔ zhī bù jìn, yòng zhī bù jié

  (Zhuyin): ㄑㄩˇ ㄓ ㄅㄨˋ ㄐㄧㄣˋ , ㄩㄥˋ ㄓ ㄅㄨˋ ㄐㄧㄝˊ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): ceoi² zi¹ bat¹ zeon⁶, jung⁶ zi¹ bat¹ kit³

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: qǔ zhī bù jìn, yòng zhī bù jié [Phonetic: qǔ zhī bú jìn, yòng zhī bù jié]
    • Zhuyin: ㄑㄩˇ ㄓ ㄅㄨˋ ㄐㄧㄣˋ , ㄩㄥˋ ㄓ ㄅㄨˋ ㄐㄧㄝˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: cyǔ jhih bù jìn, yòng jhih bù jié
    • Wade–Giles: chʻü³ chih¹ pu⁴ chin⁴, yung⁴ chih¹ pu⁴ chieh²
    • Yale: chyǔ jr̄ bù jìn-, yùng jr̄ bù jyé
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: cheu jy bu jinn, yonq jy bu jye
    • Palladius: цюй чжи бу цзинь, юн чжи бу цзе (cjuj čži bu czinʹ, jun čži bu cze)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕʰy²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ pu⁵¹⁻³⁵ t͡ɕin⁵¹⁻⁵³ jʊŋ⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ pu⁵¹ t͡ɕi̯ɛ³⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: ceoi² zi¹ bat¹ zeon⁶, jung⁶ zi¹ bat¹ kit³
    • Yale: chéui jī bāt jeuhn, yuhng jī bāt kit
    • Cantonese Pinyin: tsoey² dzi¹ bat⁷ dzoen⁶, jung⁶ dzi¹ bat⁷ kit⁸
    • Guangdong Romanization: cêu² ji¹ bed¹ zên⁶, yung⁶ ji¹ bed¹ kid³
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰɵy̯³⁵ t͡siː⁵⁵ pɐt̚⁵ t͡sɵn²² jʊŋ²² t͡siː⁵⁵ pɐt̚⁵ kʰiːt̚³/

Idiom

取之不盡，用之不竭

1. (of resources) inexhaustible

   • 它們是一切文學藝術的取之不盡、用之不竭的唯一的源泉。 [MSC, trad.]
     它们是一切文学艺术的取之不尽、用之不竭的唯一的源泉。 [MSC, simp.]

     From: 1942, 毛澤東 (Mao Zedong), 《在延安文藝座談會上的講話》 (Talks at the Yenan Forum on Literature and Art), 《毛澤東選集》. English translation based on the Foreign Languages Press edition

     Tāmen shì yīqiè wénxué yìshù de qǔ zhī bù jìn, yòng zhī bù jié de wéiyī de yuánquán. [Pinyin]

     They provide literature and art with an inexhaustible source, their only source.