如喪考妣

Chinese

		as (if); such as	lose (by death); mourning; funeral	one's deceased parents
trad. (如喪考妣)		如	喪	考妣
simp. (如丧考妣)		如	丧	考妣

Etymology

From the Book of Documents (《尚書·舜典》):

十有八載，帝乃殂落。百姓如喪考妣，三載，四海遏密八音。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]

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十有八载，帝乃殂落。百姓如丧考妣，三载，四海遏密八音。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: The Book of Documents, circa 4^th – 3^rd century BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

Shí yǒu bā zǎi, Dì nǎi cúluò. Bǎixìng rú sàng kǎobǐ, sān zǎi, sìhǎi è mì bāyīn. [Pinyin]

After twenty-eight years the Di deceased, when the people mourned for him as for a parent for three years. Within the four seas all the eight kinds of instruments of music were stopped and hushed.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): rúsàngkǎobǐ

  (Zhuyin): ㄖㄨˊ ㄙㄤˋ ㄎㄠˇ ㄅㄧˇ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): jyu⁴ song³ haau² bei²

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: rúsàngkǎobǐ [Phonetic: rúsàngkáobǐ]
    • Zhuyin: ㄖㄨˊ ㄙㄤˋ ㄎㄠˇ ㄅㄧˇ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: rúsàngkǎobǐ
    • Wade–Giles: ju²-sang⁴-kʻao³-pi³
    • Yale: rú-sàng-kǎu-bǐ
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: rusanqkaobii
    • Palladius: жусанкаоби (žusankaobi)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʐu³⁵ sɑŋ⁵¹ kʰɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻³⁵ pi²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: jyu⁴ song³ haau² bei²
    • Yale: yùh song háau béi
    • Cantonese Pinyin: jy⁴ song³ haau² bei²
    • Guangdong Romanization: yu⁴ song³ hao² béi²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /jyː²¹ sɔːŋ³³ haːu̯³⁵ pei̯³⁵/

Idiom

如喪考妣

1. (now derogatory) grieved or anxious as if one had lost one's parents