天高地厚
Chinese
editday; sky; heaven | high; tall | earth; ground; field earth; ground; field; place; land; (subor. part. adverbial); ‑ly |
generous; thick (for flat things) | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
trad. (天高地厚) | 天 | 高 | 地 | 厚 | |
simp. #(天高地厚) | 天 | 高 | 地 | 厚 | |
Literally: “as high as the heavens and as deep as the earth”. |
Etymology
editFrom the Classic of Poetry, poem 192 (《詩經·小雅·正月》):
- 謂天蓋高,不敢不局。
- From: The Classic of Poetry, c. 11th – 7th centuries BCE, translated based on James Legge's version
- Wèi tiān gài gāo, bùgǎn bù jú.
Wèi dì gài hòu, bùgǎn bù jí. [Pinyin] - We say of the heavens that they are high,
But I dare not but stoop under them.
We say of the earth that it is thick,
But I dare not but walk daintily on it.
謂地蓋厚,不敢不蹐。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, trad.]
谓天盖高,不敢不局。
谓地盖厚,不敢不蹐。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, simp.]
Pronunciation
edit- Mandarin
- Cantonese (Jyutping): tin1 gou1 dei6 hau5
- Southern Min (Teochew, Peng'im): tiang1 gao1 di7 gao6
- Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)+
- Hanyu Pinyin:
- Zhuyin: ㄊㄧㄢ ㄍㄠ ㄉㄧˋ ㄏㄡˋ
- Tongyong Pinyin: tiangaodìhòu
- Wade–Giles: tʻien1-kao1-ti4-hou4
- Yale: tyān-gāu-dì-hòu
- Gwoyeu Romatzyh: tiangaudihhow
- Palladius: тяньгаодихоу (tjanʹgaodixou)
- Sinological IPA (key): /tʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ kɑʊ̯⁵⁵ ti⁵¹⁻⁵³ xoʊ̯⁵¹/
- (Standard Chinese)+
- Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
- Jyutping: tin1 gou1 dei6 hau5
- Yale: tīn gōu deih háuh
- Cantonese Pinyin: tin1 gou1 dei6 hau5
- Guangdong Romanization: tin1 gou1 déi6 heo5
- Sinological IPA (key): /tʰiːn⁵⁵ kou̯⁵⁵ tei̯²² hɐu̯¹³/
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
- Southern Min
- (Teochew)
- Peng'im: tiang1 gao1 di7 gao6
- Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: thiang kau tī kău
- Sinological IPA (key): /tʰiaŋ³³⁻²³ kau³³ ti¹¹ kau³⁵/
- (Teochew)
Idiom
edit天高地厚
- the vastness of the world
- (figurative) profound; deep (of kindness)
- 這天高地厚情,直到海枯石爛時,此時作念何時止? [Written Vernacular Chinese, trad.]
- From: Wang Shifu, The Story of the Western Wing, 13th – 14th centuries CE
- Zhè tiāngāodìhòu qíng, zhídào hǎikūshílàn shí, cǐshí zuòniàn héshí zhǐ? [Pinyin]
- (please add an English translation of this usage example)
这天高地厚情,直到海枯石烂时,此时作念何时止? [Written Vernacular Chinese, simp.]
- complexity of things
- 我送給你這個看看,看了這種書,得點實用,那就不至於要學那一種不知天高地厚的名士了。 [Written Vernacular Chinese, trad.]
- From: 《二十年目睹之怪現狀》第二二回
- Wǒ sòng gěi nǐ zhège kànkàn, kàn le zhè zhǒng shū, dédiǎn shíyòng, nà jiù bùzhìyú yào xué nà yīzhǒng bùzhī tiāngāodìhòu de míngshì le. [Pinyin]
- (please add an English translation of this usage example)
我送给你这个看看,看了这种书,得点实用,那就不至于要学那一种不知天高地厚的名士了。 [Written Vernacular Chinese, simp.]
Synonyms
editDerived terms
edit- 不知天高地厚 (bùzhī tiāngāodìhòu)
References
edit- “Entry #53001”, in 重編國語辭典修訂本 [Revised Mandarin Chinese Dictionary] (in Chinese), National Academy for Educational Research (Taiwan), 2021.
Categories:
- Literary Chinese terms with quotations
- Chinese lemmas
- Mandarin lemmas
- Cantonese lemmas
- Teochew lemmas
- Chinese idioms
- Mandarin idioms
- Cantonese idioms
- Teochew idioms
- Chinese chengyu
- Mandarin chengyu
- Cantonese chengyu
- Teochew chengyu
- Chinese terms with IPA pronunciation
- Chinese terms spelled with 天
- Chinese terms spelled with 高
- Chinese terms spelled with 地
- Chinese terms spelled with 厚
- Mandarin terms with quotations
- Chinese chengyu derived from the Classic of Poetry