天經地義

See also: 天经地义

Chinese

		day; sky; heaven	classics; sacred book; pass through classics; sacred book; pass through; to undergo; scripture	earth; ground; field earth; ground; field; place; land; (subor. part. adverbial); ‑ly	justice; righteousness; meaning
trad. (天經地義)		天	經	地	義
simp. (天经地义)		天	经	地	义

Etymology

From an aphorism posthumously attributed to Zichan (子產) by You Ji (aka. Zitaishu, 子大叔) as recorded in the Zuozhuan.

夫禮，天之經也，地之義也，民之行也。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]

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夫礼，天之经也，地之义也，民之行也。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: Commentary of Zuo, c. 4^th century BCE

Fú lǐ, tiān zhī jīng yě, dì zhī yì yě, mín zhī xìng yě. [Pinyin]

Propriety, it is the unchanging ways of heaven, the just ways of earth, and the rightful path of every human being.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): tiānjīngdìyì

  (Zhuyin): ㄊㄧㄢ ㄐㄧㄥ ㄉㄧˋ ㄧˋ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): tin¹ ging¹ dei⁶ ji⁶
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): thian-keng-tē-gī / thian-keng-tōe-gī

  (Teochew, Peng'im): tiang¹ gêng¹ di⁷ ngi⁶

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: tiānjīngdìyì
    • Zhuyin: ㄊㄧㄢ ㄐㄧㄥ ㄉㄧˋ ㄧˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: tianjingdìyì
    • Wade–Giles: tʻien¹-ching¹-ti⁴-i⁴
    • Yale: tyān-jīng-dì-yì
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: tianjingdihyih
    • Palladius: тяньцзиндии (tjanʹczindii)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /tʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ t͡ɕiŋ⁵⁵ ti⁵¹⁻⁵³ i⁵¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: tin¹ ging¹ dei⁶ ji⁶
    • Yale: tīn gīng deih yih
    • Cantonese Pinyin: tin¹ ging¹ dei⁶ ji⁶
    • Guangdong Romanization: tin¹ ging¹ déi⁶ yi⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /tʰiːn⁵⁵ kɪŋ⁵⁵ tei̯²² jiː²²/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: thian-keng-tē-gī
    • Tâi-lô: thian-king-tē-gī
    • Phofsit Daibuun: tienkengdexgi
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /tʰiɛn⁴⁴⁻³³ kiɪŋ⁴⁴⁻³³ te³³⁻²¹ ɡi³³/
  • (Hokkien: General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: thian-keng-tōe-gī
    • Tâi-lô: thian-king-tuē-gī
    • Phofsit Daibuun: tienkengdoexgi
    • IPA (Taipei): /tʰiɛn⁴⁴⁻³³ kiɪŋ⁴⁴⁻³³ tue³³⁻¹¹ ɡi³³/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: tiang¹ gêng¹ di⁷ ngi⁶
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: thiang keng tī ngĭ
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /tʰiaŋ³³⁻²³ keŋ³³ ti¹¹ ŋi³⁵/

Idiom

天經地義

1. conforming to the traditional Chinese notion of the rules of heaven and the principles of Earth; that which is taken as a matter of course; proper practice or convention; time-honoured principle

   欠債還錢，天經地義 [MSC, trad.]
   欠债还钱，天经地义 [MSC, simp.]

   qiànzhài háiqián, tiānjīngdìyì [Pinyin]

   It is a matter of course to pay debts when one owes money.