眼觀六路，耳聽八方

Chinese

		keeping a close eye on various things; considering the many aspects of a situation		to keep one's ear to the ground; alert; watchful to keep one's ear to the ground; alert; watchful; vigilant
trad. (眼觀六路，耳聽八方)		眼觀六路	，	耳聽八方
simp. (眼观六路，耳听八方)		眼观六路	，	耳听八方
Literally: “to keep an eye on the six directions (in the space) and an ear out for the eight directions (on the compass)”.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): yǎn guān liùlù, ěr tīng bāfāng

  (Zhuyin): ㄧㄢˇ ㄍㄨㄢ ㄌㄧㄡˋ ㄌㄨˋ , ㄦˇ ㄊㄧㄥ ㄅㄚ ㄈㄤ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): ngaan⁵ gun¹ luk⁶ lou⁶, ji⁵ ting¹ baat³ fong¹, ngaan⁵ gun¹ luk⁶ lou⁶, ji⁵ ting³ baat³ fong¹

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: yǎn guān liùlù, ěr tīng bāfāng
    • Zhuyin: ㄧㄢˇ ㄍㄨㄢ ㄌㄧㄡˋ ㄌㄨˋ , ㄦˇ ㄊㄧㄥ ㄅㄚ ㄈㄤ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: yǎn guan liòulù, ěr ting bafang
    • Wade–Giles: yen³ kuan¹ liu⁴-lu⁴, êrh³ tʻing¹ pa¹-fang¹
    • Yale: yǎn gwān lyòu-lù-, ěr tīng bā-fāng
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: yean guan liowluh, eel ting bafang
    • Palladius: янь гуань люлу, эр тин бафан (janʹ guanʹ ljulu, er tin bafan)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /jɛn²¹⁴⁻²¹ ku̯än⁵⁵ li̯oʊ̯⁵¹⁻⁵³ lu⁵¹ ˀɤɻ²¹⁴⁻²¹ tʰiŋ⁵⁵ pä⁵⁵ fɑŋ⁵⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: ngaan⁵ gun¹ luk⁶ lou⁶, ji⁵ ting¹ baat³ fong¹, ngaan⁵ gun¹ luk⁶ lou⁶, ji⁵ ting³ baat³ fong¹
    • Yale: ngáahn gūn luhk louh, yíh tīng baat fōng, ngáahn gūn luhk louh, yíh ting baat fōng
    • Cantonese Pinyin: ngaan⁵ gun¹ luk⁹ lou⁶, ji⁵ ting¹ baat⁸ fong¹, ngaan⁵ gun¹ luk⁹ lou⁶, ji⁵ ting³ baat⁸ fong¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: ngan⁵ gun¹ lug⁶ lou⁶, yi⁵ ting¹ bad³ fong¹, ngan⁵ gun¹ lug⁶ lou⁶, yi⁵ ting³ bad³ fong¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ŋaːn¹³ kuːn⁵⁵ lʊk̚² lou̯²² jiː¹³ tʰɪŋ⁵⁵ paːt̚³ fɔːŋ⁵⁵/, /ŋaːn¹³ kuːn⁵⁵ lʊk̚² lou̯²² jiː¹³ tʰɪŋ³³ paːt̚³ fɔːŋ⁵⁵/

Idiom

眼觀六路，耳聽八方

1. to have sharp eyes and keen ears; to be observant and alert

Synonyms

• 眼觀四面，耳聽八方／眼观四面，耳听八方 (yǎn guān sìmiàn, ěr tīng bāfāng)
• 眼觀四處，耳聽八方／眼观四处，耳听八方 (yǎn guān sìchù, ěr tīng bāfāng)