高屋建瓴

Chinese

		high; tall	house; room	to establish; to found; to set up to establish; to found; to set up; to build; to construct	concave channels of tiling
trad. (高屋建瓴)		高	屋	建	瓴
simp. ^#(高屋建瓴)		高	屋	建	瓴
Literally: “to pour water off a steep roof”.

Etymology

From 《史記·高祖本紀》 (Records of the Grand Historian: Annals of Gaozu).

地勢便利，其以下兵於諸侯，譬猶居高屋之上建瓴水也。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]

地势便利，其以下兵于诸侯，譬犹居高屋之上建瓴水也。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: The Records of the Grand Historian, by Sima Qian, c. 91 BCE

Dìshì biànlì, qí yǐ xià bīng yú zhūhóu, pìyóu jū gāo wū zhī shàng jiàn líng shuǐ yě. [Pinyin]

(please add an English translation of this usage example)

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): gāowūjiànlíng

(Zhuyin): ㄍㄠㄨㄐㄧㄢˋ ㄌㄧㄥˊ
Cantonese (Jyutping): gou¹ uk¹ gin³ ling⁴

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: gāowūjiànlíng
  - Zhuyin: ㄍㄠㄨㄐㄧㄢˋ ㄌㄧㄥˊ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: gaowujiànlíng
  - Wade–Giles: kao¹-wu¹-chien⁴-ling²
  - Yale: gāu-wū-jyàn-líng
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: gauujiannling
  - Palladius: гао’уцзяньлин (gao’uczjanʹlin)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /kɑʊ̯⁵⁵ u⁵⁵ t͡ɕi̯ɛn⁵¹ liŋ³⁵/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
  - Jyutping: gou¹ uk¹ gin³ ling⁴
  - Yale: gōu ūk gin lìhng
  - Cantonese Pinyin: gou¹ uk⁷ gin³ ling⁴
  - Guangdong Romanization: gou¹ ug¹ gin³ ling⁴
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /kou̯⁵⁵ ʊk̚⁵ kiːn³³ lɪŋ²¹/

Idiom

高屋建瓴

to sweep down irresistibly from a commanding height; to operate from a strategically advantageous position

Synonyms

建瓴高屋 (jiànlínggāowū)
屋上建瓴 (wūshàngjiànlíng)

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