愚公

Chinese

stupid; foolish old man
trad. (愚公)
simp. #(愚公)

Pronunciation


Proper noun

愚公

  1. a character portrayed in the text Liezi: an old man who was determined to move a mountain, see 愚公移山 (yúgōngyíshān)

Noun

愚公

  1. (figurative) resolute person who does not submit to difficulties
  2. (figurative) recluse; hermit

Derived terms

Japanese

Kanji in this term

Grade: S
こう
Grade: 2
kan’on

Etymology

The name of a character in the fifth volume, 湯問 or "The Questions of Tang", of the Chinese Daoist text 列子 (Liezi). The name literally means "stupid old man". In the story, two large mountains stand before the character's house, impeding access, so the character and his family begin moving the mountains. A different character portrayed as a clever wag derides the family for their foolishness in moving the mountains instead of their house, but the emperor hears about them and is so impressed with their ambition and dedication that he arranges to have the mountains moved.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [ɡɯ̟ᵝko̞ː]

Proper noun

()(こう) • (Gukō) 

  1. the character in the Chinese text Liezi.

Derived terms

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