天高地厚
Chinese
| day; sky; heaven | high; tall | earth; ground; field earth; ground; field; place; land; (subor. part. adverbial); ‑ly |
generous; thick (for flat things) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| trad. (天高地厚) | 天 | 高 | 地 | 厚 | |
| simp. #(天高地厚) | 天 | 高 | 地 | 厚 | |
| Literally: “as high as the heavens and as deep as the earth”. | |||||
Etymology
From the Classic of Poetry, poem 192 (《詩經·小雅·正月》):
- 謂天蓋高，不敢不局。
- From: The Classic of Poetry, c. 11th – 7th centuries BCE, translated based on James Legge's version
- Wèi tiān gài gāo, bùgǎn bù jú.
wèi dì gài hòu, bùgǎn bù jí. [Pinyin] - We say of the heavens that they are high,
But I dare not but stoop under them.
We say of the earth that it is thick,
But I dare not but walk daintily on it.
謂地蓋厚，不敢不蹐。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, trad.]
谓天盖高，不敢不局。
谓地盖厚，不敢不蹐。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, simp.]
Pronunciation
Derived terms
- 不知天高地厚 (bùzhī tiāngāodìhòu)
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