力不從心

Chinese

		power; force; strength	not; no	from; obey; observe from; obey; observe; follow; second cousin; lax; yielding; unhurried	heart; mind
trad. (力不從心)		力	不	從	心
simp. (力不从心)		力	不	从	心
Literally: “strength does not follow the heart”.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): lìbùcóngxīn

  (Zhuyin): ㄌㄧˋ ㄅㄨˋ ㄘㄨㄥˊ ㄒㄧㄣ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): lik⁶ bat¹ cung⁴ sam¹
• Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): le̍k-put-chiông-sim

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: lìbùcóngxīn
    • Zhuyin: ㄌㄧˋ ㄅㄨˋ ㄘㄨㄥˊ ㄒㄧㄣ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: lìbùcóngsin
    • Wade–Giles: li⁴-pu⁴-tsʻung²-hsin¹
    • Yale: lì-bù-tsúng-syīn
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: lihbutsorngshin
    • Palladius: либуцунсинь (libucunsinʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /li⁵¹⁻⁵³ pu⁵¹ t͡sʰʊŋ³⁵ ɕin⁵⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: lik⁶ bat¹ cung⁴ sam¹
    • Yale: lihk bāt chùhng sām
    • Cantonese Pinyin: lik⁹ bat⁷ tsung⁴ sam¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: lig⁶ bed¹ cung⁴ sem¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /lɪk̚² pɐt̚⁵ t͡sʰʊŋ²¹ sɐm⁵⁵/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: le̍k-put-chiông-sim
    • Tâi-lô: li̍k-put-tsiông-sim
    • Phofsit Daibuun: legputciongsym
    • IPA (Taipei): /liɪk̚⁴⁻³² put̚³²⁻⁴ t͡siɔŋ²⁴⁻¹¹ sim⁴⁴/
    • IPA (Xiamen): /liɪk̚⁴⁻³² put̚³²⁻⁴ t͡siɔŋ²⁴⁻²² sim⁴⁴/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /liɪk̚⁴⁻³² put̚³²⁻⁴ t͡siɔŋ²³⁻³³ sim⁴⁴/

Idiom

力不從心

1. to lack the ability to do what one wants; one's strength does not match one's ambitions; the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak

Synonyms

• 心有餘而力不足／心有余而力不足 (xīn yǒuyú ér lì bùzú)
• 心餘力絀／心余力绌 (xīnyúlìchù)