無心插柳柳成蔭

See also: 无心插柳柳成荫

Chinese

		without the desire or intention; unwitting; accidentally without the desire or intention; unwitting; accidentally; inadvertently; unwittingly	insert; stick in; pierce insert; stick in; pierce; to take part in; to interfere; to interpose	willow	willow	finish; complete; accomplish finish; complete; accomplish; become; turn into; win; succeed; one tenth	shade
trad. (無心插柳柳成蔭)		無心	插	柳	柳	成	蔭
simp. (无心插柳柳成荫)		无心	插	柳	柳	成	荫
Literally: “unwittingly plant a willow tree which later provides shade”.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): wúxīn chā liǔ liǔ chéng yìn

  (Zhuyin): ㄨˊ ㄒㄧㄣ ㄔㄚ ㄌㄧㄡˇ ㄌㄧㄡˇ ㄔㄥˊ ㄧㄣˋ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): mou⁴ sam¹ caap³ lau⁵ lau⁵ sing⁴ jam³

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: wúxīn chā liǔ liǔ chéng yìn [Phonetic: wúxīnchāliúliǔchéngyìn]
    • Zhuyin: ㄨˊ ㄒㄧㄣ ㄔㄚ ㄌㄧㄡˇ ㄌㄧㄡˇ ㄔㄥˊ ㄧㄣˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: wúsin cha liǒu liǒu chéng yìn
    • Wade–Giles: wu²-hsin¹ chʻa¹ liu³ liu³ chʻêng² yin⁴
    • Yale: wú-syīn chā lyǒu lyǒu chéng yìn
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: wushin cha leou leou cherng yinn
    • Palladius: усинь ча лю лю чэн инь (usinʹ ča lju lju čɛn inʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /u³⁵ ɕin⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂʰä⁵⁵ li̯oʊ̯²¹⁴⁻³⁵ li̯oʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʈ͡ʂʰɤŋ³⁵ in⁵¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: mou⁴ sam¹ caap³ lau⁵ lau⁵ sing⁴ jam³
    • Yale: mòuh sām chaap láuh láuh sìhng yam
    • Cantonese Pinyin: mou⁴ sam¹ tsaap⁸ lau⁵ lau⁵ sing⁴ jam³
    • Guangdong Romanization: mou⁴ sem¹ cab³ leo⁵ leo⁵ xing⁴ yem³
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /mou̯²¹ sɐm⁵⁵ t͡sʰaːp̚³ lɐu̯¹³ lɐu̯¹³ sɪŋ²¹ jɐm³³/

Idiom

無心插柳柳成蔭

1. to do something which unintentionally returns positive results

Synonyms

• 無心插柳／无心插柳 (wúxīn chā liǔ)

Derived terms

• 有心栽花花不開，無心插柳柳成蔭／有心栽花花不开，无心插柳柳成荫 (yǒuxīn zāi huā huā bù kāi, wúxīn chā liǔ liǔ chéng yìn)
• 有意栽花花不發，無心插柳柳成陰／有意栽花花不发，无心插柳柳成阴