君子之交淡如水

Chinese

		junzi; man of virtue; high-minded person junzi; man of virtue; high-minded person; noble person; superior person	's; him/her/it; this	to deliver; to turn over; to make friends to deliver; to turn over; to make friends; to intersect (lines); to pay (money)	insipid; diluted; weak insipid; diluted; weak; light in colour; tasteless; fresh; indifferent; nitrogen	as (if); such as	water; river
trad. (君子之交淡如水)		君子	之	交	淡	如	水
simp. #(君子之交淡如水)		君子	之	交	淡	如	水

Etymology

From Zhuangzi:

且君子之交淡若水，小人之交甘若醴。 [Classical Chinese, trad. and simp.]

From: Zhuangzi, circa 3^rd – 2^nd centuries BCE

Qiě jūnzǐ zhī jiāo dàn ruò shuǐ, xiǎorén zhī jiāo gān ruò lǐ. [Pinyin]

Moreover, the intercourse of superior men is tasteless as water, while that of mean men is sweet as new wine.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): jūnzǐ zhī jiāo dàn rú shuǐ

  (Zhuyin): ㄐㄩㄣ ㄗˇ ㄓ ㄐㄧㄠ ㄉㄢˋ ㄖㄨˊ ㄕㄨㄟˇ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): gwan¹ zi² zi¹ gaau¹ daam⁶ jyu⁴ seoi²

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: jūnzǐ zhī jiāo dàn rú shuǐ
    • Zhuyin: ㄐㄩㄣ ㄗˇ ㄓ ㄐㄧㄠ ㄉㄢˋ ㄖㄨˊ ㄕㄨㄟˇ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: jyunzǐh jhih jiao dàn rú shuěi
    • Wade–Giles: chün¹-tzŭ³ chih¹ chiao¹ tan⁴ ju² shui³
    • Yale: jyūn-dž jr̄ jyāu dàn rú shwěi
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: jiuntzyy jy jiau dann ru shoei
    • Palladius: цзюньцзы чжи цзяо дань жу шуй (czjunʹczy čži czjao danʹ žu šuj)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕyn⁵⁵ t͡sz̩²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ t͡ɕi̯ɑʊ̯⁵⁵ tän⁵¹ ʐu³⁵ ʂu̯eɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: gwan¹ zi² zi¹ gaau¹ daam⁶ jyu⁴ seoi²
    • Yale: gwān jí jī gāau daahm yùh séui
    • Cantonese Pinyin: gwan¹ dzi² dzi¹ gaau¹ daam⁶ jy⁴ soey²
    • Guangdong Romanization: guen¹ ji² ji¹ gao¹ dam⁶ yu⁴ sêu²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kʷɐn⁵⁵ t͡siː³⁵ t͡siː⁵⁵ kaːu̯⁵⁵ taːm²² jyː²¹ sɵy̯³⁵/

Proverb

君子之交淡如水

1. True friendship between two men of accomplishment need not be overly demonstrative.

Antonyms

• 小人之交甘若醴

Descendants

• → Japanese: 君子の交わりは淡きこと水の如し (kunshi no majiwari wa awaki koto mizu no gotoshi) (calque)