三更燈火五更雞
Appearance
See also: 三更灯火五更鸡
Chinese
[edit]third watch; midnight | lights | the five watches of the night; fifth watch | fowl; chicken | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
trad. (三更燈火五更雞/三更燈火五更鷄) | 三更 | 燈火 | 五更 | 雞/鷄 | |
simp. (三更灯火五更鸡) | 三更 | 灯火 | 五更 | 鸡 | |
Literally: “Third watch with lamp light and fifth watch as the rooster crows”. |
Etymology
[edit]From the Tang poem “An Exhortation to Learning” (勸學):
- 三更燈火五更雞,正是男兒讀書時。黑髮不知勤學早,白首方悔讀書遲。 [MSC, trad.]
- From: Tang Dynasty, Yan Zhenqing, “An Exhortation to Learning” (勸學)
- Sāngēng dēnghuǒ wǔgēng jī, zhèngshì nán'ér dúshū shí. Hēifà bùzhī qín xué zǎo, báishǒu fāng huǐ dúshū chí. [Pinyin]
- Third watch (~ 11 p.m.) with lamp light and fifth watch (~ 5 a.m.) as the rooster crows, are the best time for a boy to study.
If one does not study hard while his hairs are still dark, he will regret for studying late when his hairs turn grey.
三更灯火五更鸡,正是男儿读书时。黑发不知勤学早,白首方悔读书迟。 [MSC, simp.]
Pronunciation
[edit]- Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)+
- Hanyu Pinyin:
- Zhuyin: ㄙㄢ ㄍㄥ ㄉㄥ ㄏㄨㄛˇ ㄨˇ ㄍㄥ ㄐㄧ
- Tongyong Pinyin: sangeng denghuǒ wǔgeng ji
- Wade–Giles: san1-kêng1 têng1-huo3 wu3-kêng1 chi1
- Yale: sān-gēng dēng-hwǒ wǔ-gēng jī
- Gwoyeu Romatzyh: sangeng denghuoo wuugeng ji
- Palladius: саньгэн дэнхо угэн цзи (sanʹgɛn dɛnxo ugɛn czi)
- Sinological IPA (key): /sän⁵⁵ kɤŋ⁵⁵ tɤŋ⁵⁵ xu̯ɔ²¹⁴⁻³⁵ u²¹⁴⁻²¹ kɤŋ⁵⁵ t͡ɕi⁵⁵/
- (Standard Chinese)+
- Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
- Jyutping: saam1 gaang1 dang1 fo2 ng5 gaang1 gai1
- Yale: sāam gāang dāng fó ńgh gāang gāi
- Cantonese Pinyin: saam1 gaang1 dang1 fo2 ng5 gaang1 gai1
- Guangdong Romanization: sam1 gang1 deng1 fo2 ng5 gang1 gei1
- Sinological IPA (key): /saːm⁵⁵ kaːŋ⁵⁵ tɐŋ⁵⁵ fɔː³⁵ ŋ̍¹³ kaːŋ⁵⁵ kɐi̯⁵⁵/
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
Idiom
[edit]三更燈火五更雞
- to burn the midnight oil, only to get up at the crack of dawn
- to work long hours
- to burn one's candle at both ends
- 就是這樣的一道檻,讓眾多的學子“三更燈火五更雞”,讓眾多的學校加課補課取消節假日。 [MSC, trad.]
- From: 2004: 武少民 (Wu Shaomin), 来信选登:素质教育比不上高考升学率? (Letters to the Editor: Quality education cannot compare to the rate at which students pass high school entrance exams?)
- Jiùshì zhèyàng de yī dào kǎn, ràng zhòngduō de xuézǐ “sāngēng dēnghuǒ wǔgēng jī”, ràng zhòngduō de xuéxiào jiākè bǔkè qǔxiāo jiéjiàrì. [Pinyin]
- It's just this kind of threshold that causes many students to study late into the night, only to get up and go to class the next morning. It also causes many schools to add extra classes, including make-up classes, and to cancel holidays and days off.
就是这样的一道槛,让众多的学子“三更灯火五更鸡”,让众多的学校加课补课取消节假日。 [MSC, simp.]
Categories:
- Mandarin terms with quotations
- Chinese lemmas
- Mandarin lemmas
- Cantonese lemmas
- Chinese idioms
- Mandarin idioms
- Cantonese idioms
- Chinese terms with IPA pronunciation
- Chinese terms spelled with 三
- Chinese terms spelled with 更
- Chinese terms spelled with 燈
- Chinese terms spelled with 火
- Chinese terms spelled with 五
- Chinese terms spelled with 雞