盡人事，聽天命

Chinese

		to do what one can; to do all that is humanly possible
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

From 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.]

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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.]

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?"

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): jìn rénshì, tīng tiānmìng, jìn rénshì, tìng tiānmìng

  (Zhuyin): ㄐㄧㄣˋ ㄖㄣˊ ㄕˋ , ㄊㄧㄥ ㄊㄧㄢ ㄇㄧㄥˋ, ㄐㄧㄣˋ ㄖㄣˊ ㄕˋ , ㄊㄧㄥˋ ㄊㄧㄢ ㄇㄧㄥˋ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): zeon⁶ jan⁴ si⁶, ting³ tin¹ ming⁶

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese, standard in Mainland; variant in Taiwan)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: jìn rénshì, tīng tiānmìng
    • 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: jìn rénshì, tìng tiānmìng
    • 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/
• 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/

Idiom

盡人事，聽天命

1. to do one's level best and leave the rest to God's will; man proposes, God disposes

Synonyms

• 盡人力，聽天命／尽人力，听天命 (jìn rénlì, tīng tiānmìng)
• 謀事在人，成事在天／谋事在人，成事在天 (móushì zài rén, chéngshì zài tiān)

Descendants

• → Japanese: 人事を尽くして天命を待つ (jinji o tsukushite tenmei o matsu) (partial calque)