人在屋檐下,不得不低頭
Chinese edit
man; person; people | (located) at; in; exist (located) at; in; exist; (before verbs) immediately involved in; right in the middle of doing |
eaves | under; next; lower under; next; lower; below; underneath; down(wards); to go down; latter |
have no choice but to; cannot but; have to | ||||
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trad. (人在屋檐下,不得不低頭/人在屋簷下,不得不低頭) | 人 | 在 | 屋檐/屋簷 | 下 | , | 不得不 | 低頭 | |
simp. (人在屋檐下,不得不低头) | 人 | 在 | 屋檐 | 下 | , | 不得不 | 低头 | |
Literally: “When a man stands under eaves, he has to lower his head.” |
Etymology edit
A wordplay of 低頭/低头 (dītóu)'s literal and figurative meaning.
Pronunciation edit
Proverb edit
人在屋檐下,不得不低頭
- One often has to concede when he or she is in a disadvantaged position