囫圇吞棗

Chinese

		complete; whole; sweeping and vague	to swallow; to take	jujube
trad. (囫圇吞棗)		囫圇	吞	棗
simp. (囫囵吞枣)		囫囵	吞	枣
alternative forms		渾崙吞棗／浑仑吞枣鶻崙吞棗／鹘仑吞枣
Literally: “to swallow a jujube whole”.

Etymology

From a story in the Blue Cliff Record (《碧巖錄》):

若是知有底人，細嚼來嚥；若是不知有底人，一似渾崙吞箇棗。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]

若是知有底人，细嚼来咽；若是不知有底人，一似浑仑吞个枣。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

Ruòshì zhī yǒu de rén, xì jué lái yān; ruòshì bùzhī yǒu de rén, yīsì húnlún tūn gè zǎo. [Pinyin]

Those who know the ins and outs will chew and swallow it slowly and carefully; those who don't will act like swallowing a jujube whole.

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): húlúntūnzǎo

(Zhuyin): ㄏㄨˊ ㄌㄨㄣˊ ㄊㄨㄣㄗㄠˇ
Cantonese (Jyutping): fat¹ leon⁴ tan¹ zou²

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: húlúntūnzǎo
  - Zhuyin: ㄏㄨˊ ㄌㄨㄣˊ ㄊㄨㄣㄗㄠˇ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: húlúntunzǎo
  - Wade–Giles: hu²-lun²-tʻun¹-tsao³
  - Yale: hú-lwún-twūn-dzǎu
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: hwuluentuentzao
  - Palladius: хулуньтуньцзао (xulunʹtunʹczao)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /xu³⁵ lu̯ən³⁵ tʰu̯ən⁵⁵ t͡sɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
- (Standard Chinese, erhua-ed)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: húlúntūnzǎor
  - Zhuyin: ㄏㄨˊ ㄌㄨㄣˊ ㄊㄨㄣㄗㄠˇㄦ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: húlúntunzǎor
  - Wade–Giles: hu²-lun²-tʻun¹-tsao³-ʼrh
  - Yale: hú-lwún-twūn-dzǎur
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: hwuluentuentzaol
  - Palladius: хулуньтуньцзаор (xulunʹtunʹczaor)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /xu³⁵ lu̯ən³⁵ tʰu̯ən⁵⁵ t͡saʊ̯ɻʷ²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
  - Jyutping: fat¹ leon⁴ tan¹ zou²
  - Yale: fāt lèuhn tān jóu
  - Cantonese Pinyin: fat⁷ loen⁴ tan¹ dzou²
  - Guangdong Romanization: fed¹ lên⁴ ten¹ zou²
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /fɐt̚⁵ lɵn²¹ tʰɐn⁵⁵ t͡sou̯³⁵/

Idiom

囫圇吞棗

(figurative) to accept without thinking; to read without understanding

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (囫圇吞棗):

→ Korean: 홀륜탄조(囫圇呑棗) (hollyuntanjo)

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