大音希聲

Chinese

		big; great; huge big; great; huge; large; major; wide; deep; oldest; eldest; doctor	sound; noise; news	to hope; rare; infrequent	sound; voice; (a measure word, used for sounds) sound; voice; (a measure word, used for sounds); tone; noise
trad. (大音希聲)		大	音	希	聲
simp. (大音希声)		大	音	希	声

Etymology

From Tao Te Ching:

大方無隅；大器晚成；大音希聲；大象無形。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]

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大方无隅；大器晚成；大音希声；大象无形。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: Tao Te Ching, 4^th century BCE

Dà fāng wú yú; dà qì wǎn chéng; dà yīn xī shēng; dà xiàng wú xíng. [Pinyin]

Its largest square doth yet no corner show;
A vessel great, it is the slowest made;
Loud is its sound, but never word it said;
A semblance great, the shadow of a shade.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): dàyīnxīshēng

  (Zhuyin): ㄉㄚˋ ㄧㄣ ㄒㄧ ㄕㄥ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): daai⁶ jam¹ hei¹ sing¹

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: dàyīnxīshēng
    • Zhuyin: ㄉㄚˋ ㄧㄣ ㄒㄧ ㄕㄥ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: dàyinsisheng
    • Wade–Giles: ta⁴-yin¹-hsi¹-shêng¹
    • Yale: dà-yīn-syī-shēng
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: dahinshisheng
    • Palladius: даиньсишэн (dainʹsišɛn)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /tä⁵¹ in⁵⁵ ɕi⁵⁵ ʂɤŋ⁵⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: daai⁶ jam¹ hei¹ sing¹
    • Yale: daaih yām hēi sīng
    • Cantonese Pinyin: daai⁶ jam¹ hei¹ sing¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: dai⁶ yem¹ héi¹ xing¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /taːi̯²² jɐm⁵⁵ hei̯⁵⁵ sɪŋ⁵⁵/

Idiom

大音希聲

1. The greatest music has the faintest notes.