斬草除根

See also: 斩草除根

Chinese

	behead; chop	grass; straw; draft (of a document) grass; straw; draft (of a document); careless; rough; manuscript; hasty	to root out; to remove by the roots
trad. (斬草除根)	斬	草	除根
simp. (斩草除根)	斩	草	除根
Literally: “to take out the roots while removing weeds”.

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): zhǎncǎochúgēn

(Zhuyin): ㄓㄢˇ ㄘㄠˇ ㄔㄨˊ ㄍㄣ
Cantonese (Jyutping): zaam² cou² ceoi⁴ gan¹
Gan (Wiktionary): zan³ cau³ qu² gien¹
Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): chám-chháu-tû-kun / chám-chháu-tî-kin

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: zhǎncǎochúgēn [Phonetic: zháncǎochúgēn]
  - Zhuyin: ㄓㄢˇ ㄘㄠˇ ㄔㄨˊ ㄍㄣ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: jhǎncǎochúgen
  - Wade–Giles: chan³-tsʻao³-chʻu²-kên¹
  - Yale: jǎn-tsǎu-chú-gēn
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: jaantsaochwugen
  - Palladius: чжаньцаочугэнь (čžanʹcaočugɛnʹ)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʈ͡ʂän²¹⁴⁻³⁵ t͡sʰɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʈ͡ʂʰu³⁵ kən⁵⁵/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
  - Jyutping: zaam² cou² ceoi⁴ gan¹
  - Yale: jáam chóu chèuih gān
  - Cantonese Pinyin: dzaam² tsou² tsoey⁴ gan¹
  - Guangdong Romanization: zam² cou² cêu⁴ gen¹
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡saːm³⁵ t͡sʰou̯³⁵ t͡sʰɵy̯²¹ kɐn⁵⁵/
Gan
- (Nanchang)
  - Wiktionary: zan³ cau³ qu² gien¹
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡san²¹³⁻²⁴ t͡sʰau²¹³⁻¹³ t͡ɕʰu²⁴ kiɛn⁴²/
Southern Min
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, General Taiwanese)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chám-chháu-tû-kun
  - Tâi-lô: tsám-tsháu-tû-kun
  - Phofsit Daibuun: zafmzhaw'du'kwn
  - IPA (Xiamen): /t͡sam⁵³⁻⁴⁴ t͡sʰau⁵³ tu²⁴⁻²² kun⁴⁴/
  - IPA (Taipei): /t͡sam⁵³⁻⁴⁴ t͡sʰau⁵³ tu²⁴⁻¹¹ kun⁴⁴/
- (Hokkien: General Taiwanese)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chám-chháu-tî-kin
  - Tâi-lô: tsám-tsháu-tî-kin
  - Phofsit Daibuun: zafmzhaw'di'kyn
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /t͡sam⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ t͡sʰau⁴¹ ti²³⁻³³ kin⁴⁴/

Idiom

斬草除根

to root out; to nip in the bud; to eliminate completely
- 若不斬草除根，必為喪身之本。 [Written Vernacular Chinese, trad.]
  若不斩草除根，必为丧身之本。 [Written Vernacular Chinese, simp.]
  From: Romance of the Three Kingdoms, circa 14^th century CE
  Ruò bù zhǎncǎochúgēn, bì wéi sàngshēn zhī běn. [Pinyin]
  If you don't nip this in the bud, it will eventually be the death of you.