一蟹不如一蟹
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Chinese
[edit]one; single; a one; single; a; (before verbs) as soon as, once; (before a noun) entire (family, etc.) |
crab | one; single; a one; single; a; (before verbs) as soon as, once; (before a noun) entire (family, etc.) |
crab | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
trad. (一蟹不如一蟹) | 一 | 蟹 | 不如 | 一 | 蟹 | |
simp. #(一蟹不如一蟹) | 一 | 蟹 | 不如 | 一 | 蟹 | |
Literally: “each crab is smaller than the one before”. |
Etymology
[edit]From Words of Aizi by Su Shi:
- 艾子行於海上,見一物圓而褊,且多足,問居人曰:「此何物也?」曰:「蝤蛑也。」既又見一物,圓褊多足,問居人曰:「此何物也?」曰:「螃蟹也。」又於後得一物,狀貌皆若前所見而極小,問居人曰:「此何物也?」曰:「彭越也。」艾子喟然嘆曰:「何一蟹不如一蟹也!」 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
- From: Su Shi, 《艾子雜說》 (Words of Aizi)
- Àizǐ xíng yú hǎi shàng, jiàn yī wù yuán ér biǎn, qiě duō zú, wèn jūrén yuē: “Cǐ hé wù yě?” Yuē: “Qiúmóu yě.” Jì yòu jiàn yī wù, yuán biǎn duō zú, wèn jūrén yuē: “Cǐ hé wù yě?” Yuē: “Pángxiè yě.” Yòu yú hòu dé yī wù, zhuàngmào jiē ruò qián suǒ jiàn ér jí xiǎo, wèn jūrén yuē: “Cǐ hé wù yě?” Yuē: “Péngyuè yě.” Àizǐ kuìrán tàn yuē: “Hé yīxièbùrúyīxiè yě!” [Pinyin]
- Aizi was strolling by the sea. He saw a round and flat creature with many legs. He asked a local person, "What is this?" "It's a swimming crab (Portunidae)," answered that person. Then Aizi saw another creature, also round and flat, with many legs. Aizi then asked, "What is this?" "It's a common crab (Brachyura)." After that Aizi saw another creature again. It looked like those he just saw but was very small. He asked, "What is this?" "It's an sesarmid crab (Sesarmidae)." Aizi then sighed and said, "Why each crab I saw is smaller than the one before?"
艾子行于海上,见一物圆而褊,且多足,问居人曰:「此何物也?」曰:「蝤蛑也。」既又见一物,圆褊多足,问居人曰:「此何物也?」曰:「螃蟹也。」又于后得一物,状貌皆若前所见而极小,问居人曰:「此何物也?」曰:「彭越也。」艾子喟然叹曰:「何一蟹不如一蟹也!」 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
Pronunciation
[edit]- Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)+
- Hanyu Pinyin:
- Zhuyin: ㄧ ㄒㄧㄝˋ ㄅㄨˋ ㄖㄨˊ ㄧ ㄒㄧㄝˋ
- Tongyong Pinyin: yi siè bùrú yi siè
- Wade–Giles: i1 hsieh4 pu4-ju2 i1 hsieh4
- Yale: yī syè bù-rú yī syè
- Gwoyeu Romatzyh: i shieh buru i shieh
- Palladius: и се бужу и се (i se bužu i se)
- Sinological IPA (key): /i⁵⁵⁻³⁵ ɕi̯ɛ⁵¹⁻⁵³ pu⁵¹ ʐu³⁵ i⁵⁵⁻³⁵ ɕi̯ɛ⁵¹/
- (Standard Chinese)+
- Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
- Jyutping: jat1 haai5 bat1 jyu4 jat1 haai5
- Yale: yāt háaih bāt yùh yāt háaih
- Cantonese Pinyin: jat7 haai5 bat7 jy4 jat7 haai5
- Guangdong Romanization: yed1 hai5 bed1 yu4 yed1 hai5
- Sinological IPA (key): /jɐt̚⁵ haːi̯¹³ pɐt̚⁵ jyː²¹ jɐt̚⁵ haːi̯¹³/
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
Idiom
[edit]一蟹不如一蟹
Synonyms
[edit]Categories:
- Literary Chinese terms with quotations
- Mandarin words containing 一 undergoing tone sandhi to the second tone
- Chinese lemmas
- Mandarin lemmas
- Cantonese lemmas
- Chinese idioms
- Mandarin idioms
- Cantonese idioms
- Chinese chengyu
- Mandarin chengyu
- Cantonese chengyu
- Chinese terms with IPA pronunciation
- Chinese terms spelled with 一
- Chinese terms spelled with 蟹
- Chinese terms spelled with 不
- Chinese terms spelled with 如