夏蟲不可語冰
Chinese
| “summer insects”; insects that are active only during summer | cannot; should not; must not | speech; language; dialect speech; language; dialect; tell to |
ice | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| trad. (夏蟲不可語冰) | 夏蟲 | 不可 | 語 | 冰 | |
| simp. (夏虫不可语冰) | 夏虫 | 不可 | 语 | 冰 | |
| Literally: “Summer insects cannot speak of ice.” | |||||
Etymology
From Zhuangzi:
- 夏蟲不可以語於冰者，篤於時也。 [Traditional Chinese poetry, trad.]
- From: Zhuangzi, circa 3rd – 2nd centuries BCE
- Xiàchóng bù kě yǐ yǔ yú bīng zhě, dǔ yú shí yě. [Pinyin]
- An insect of the summer cannot be talked with about ice - it knows nothing beyond its own season.
夏虫不可以语于冰者，笃于时也。 [Traditional Chinese poetry, simp.]
Pronunciation
- Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)+
- Hanyu Pinyin: xiàchóng bùkě yǔ bīng [Phonetic: xiàchóngbùkéyǔbīng]
- Zhuyin: ㄒㄧㄚˋ ㄔㄨㄥˊ ㄅㄨˋ ㄎㄜˇ ㄩˇ ㄅㄧㄥ
- Tongyong Pinyin: siàchóng bùkě yǔ bing
- Wade–Giles: hsia4-chʻung2 pu4-kʻo3 yü3 ping1
- Yale: syà-chúng bù-kě yǔ bīng
- Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shiahchorng bukee yeu bing
- Palladius: сячун букэ юй бин (sjačun bukɛ juj bin)
- Sinological IPA (key): /ɕi̯ä⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂʰʊŋ³⁵ pu⁵¹ kʰɤ²¹⁴⁻³⁵ y²¹⁴⁻²¹ piŋ⁵⁵/
- (Standard Chinese)+
- Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
- Jyutping: haa6 cung4 bat1 ho2 jyu5 bing1
- Yale: hah chùhng bāt hó yúh bīng
- Cantonese Pinyin: haa6 tsung4 bat7 ho2 jy5 bing1
- Guangdong Romanization: ha6 cung4 bed1 ho2 yu5 bing1
- Sinological IPA (key): /haː²² t͡sʰʊŋ²¹ pɐt̚⁵ hɔː³⁵ jyː¹³ pɪŋ⁵⁵/
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
Proverb
夏蟲不可語冰
- One cannot engage in meaningful discussions with people with only superficial knowledge or narrow experience
Synonyms
- 夏蟲語冰／夏虫语冰
- 夏蟲不可以語冰／夏虫不可以语冰
See also
- 井底之蛙 (jǐngdǐzhīwā)