盡人事,聽天命
Chinese
editto do what one can; to do all that is humanly possible | ||||
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trad. (盡人事,聽天命) | 盡人事 | , | 聽天命 | |
simp. (尽人事,听天命) | 尽人事 | , | 听天命 |
Etymology
editFrom Flowers in the Mirror (鏡花緣) by 李汝珍 (Li Ruzhen):
- 元女道:「仙姑豈不聞『小不忍則亂大謀』?又諺云:『盡人事以聽天命。』今仙姑既不能忍,又人事未盡,以致如此,何能言得天命?」 [Written Vernacular Chinese, trad.]
- From: 李汝珍, 《鏡花緣》
- Yuánnǚ dào: “Xiāngū qǐ bù wén ‘xiǎobùrěnzéluàndàmóu’? Yòu yàn yún: ‘Jìn rénshì yǐ tīng tiānmìng.’ Jīn xiāngū jì bùnéng rěn, yòu rénshì wèi jìn, yǐzhì rúcǐ, hé néng yán dé tiānmìng?” [Pinyin]
- Xuannü said: "Haven't you heard that 'lack of forbearance in small matters upsets great plans'? And there is also an idiom saying 'man proposes, God disposes'. But you neither forbear, nor propose. That being so, how can you say that's what God disposes?"
元女道:「仙姑岂不闻『小不忍则乱大谋』?又谚云:『尽人事以听天命。』今仙姑既不能忍,又人事未尽,以致如此,何能言得天命?」 [Written Vernacular Chinese, simp.]
Pronunciation
edit- Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese, standard in Mainland; variant in Taiwan)+
- Hanyu Pinyin:
- Zhuyin: ㄐㄧㄣˋ ㄖㄣˊ ㄕˋ , ㄊㄧㄥ ㄊㄧㄢ ㄇㄧㄥˋ
- Tongyong Pinyin: jìn rénshìh, ting tianmìng
- Wade–Giles: chin4 jên2-shih4, tʻing1 tʻien1-ming4
- Yale: jìn rén-shr̀-, tīng tyān-mìng
- Gwoyeu Romatzyh: jinn renshyh, ting tianminq
- Palladius: цзинь жэньши, тин тяньмин (czinʹ žɛnʹši, tin tjanʹmin)
- Sinological IPA (key): /t͡ɕin⁵¹ ʐən³⁵ ʂʐ̩⁵¹ tʰiŋ⁵⁵ tʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ miŋ⁵¹/
- (Standard Chinese, standard in Taiwan; dated variant in Mainland)+
- Hanyu Pinyin:
- Zhuyin: ㄐㄧㄣˋ ㄖㄣˊ ㄕˋ , ㄊㄧㄥˋ ㄊㄧㄢ ㄇㄧㄥˋ
- Tongyong Pinyin: jìn rénshìh, tìng tianmìng
- Wade–Giles: chin4 jên2-shih4, tʻing4 tʻien1-ming4
- Yale: jìn rén-shr̀-, tìng tyān-mìng
- Gwoyeu Romatzyh: jinn renshyh, tinq tianminq
- Palladius: цзинь жэньши, тин тяньмин (czinʹ žɛnʹši, tin tjanʹmin)
- Sinological IPA (key): /t͡ɕin⁵¹ ʐən³⁵ ʂʐ̩⁵¹⁻⁵³ tʰiŋ⁵¹ tʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ miŋ⁵¹/
- (Standard Chinese, standard in Mainland; variant in Taiwan)+
- Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
- Jyutping: zeon6 jan4 si6, ting3 tin1 ming6
- Yale: jeuhn yàhn sih, ting tīn mihng
- Cantonese Pinyin: dzoen6 jan4 si6, ting3 tin1 ming6
- Guangdong Romanization: zên6 yen4 xi6, ting3 tin1 ming6
- Sinological IPA (key): /t͡sɵn²² jɐn²¹ siː²² tʰɪŋ³³ tʰiːn⁵⁵ mɪŋ²²/
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
Idiom
edit盡人事,聽天命
- to do one's level best and leave the rest to God's will; man proposes, God disposes
Synonyms
editDescendants
edit- → Japanese: 人事を尽くして天命を待つ (jinji o tsukushite tenmei o matsu) (partial calque)
Categories:
- Mandarin terms with quotations
- Mandarin terms with multiple pronunciations
- Chinese lemmas
- Mandarin lemmas
- Cantonese lemmas
- Chinese idioms
- Mandarin idioms
- Cantonese idioms
- Chinese chengyu
- Mandarin chengyu
- Cantonese chengyu
- Chinese terms with IPA pronunciation
- Chinese terms spelled with 盡
- Chinese terms spelled with 人
- Chinese terms spelled with 事
- Chinese terms spelled with 聽
- Chinese terms spelled with 天
- Chinese terms spelled with 命