不如意事，十常八九

Chinese

		not; no	according to [one's] wishes; to be as one wishes; to be satisfactory	matter; thing; item matter; thing; item; work; affair		ten	always; ever; often always; ever; often; frequently; common; general; constant	eight	nine
trad. (不如意事，十常八九)		不	如意	事	，	十	常	八	九
simp. #(不如意事，十常八九)		不	如意	事	，	十	常	八	九
Literally: “Events that do not turn out as one wished are happening as often as ten eight and nine.”

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): bù rúyì shì, shí cháng bā jiǔ

  (Zhuyin): ㄅㄨˋ ㄖㄨˊ ㄧˋ ㄕˋ , ㄕˊ ㄔㄤˊ ㄅㄚ ㄐㄧㄡˇ

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: bù rúyì shì, shí cháng bā jiǔ
    • Zhuyin: ㄅㄨˋ ㄖㄨˊ ㄧˋ ㄕˋ , ㄕˊ ㄔㄤˊ ㄅㄚ ㄐㄧㄡˇ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: bù rúyì shìh, shíh cháng ba jiǒu
    • Wade–Giles: pu⁴ ju²-i⁴ shih⁴, shih² chʻang² pa¹ chiu³
    • Yale: bù rú-yì shr̀-, shŕ cháng bā jyǒu
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: bu ruyih shyh, shyr charng ba jeou
    • Palladius: бу жуи ши, ши чан ба цзю (bu žui ši, ši čan ba czju)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /pu⁵¹ ʐu³⁵ i⁵¹⁻⁵³ ʂʐ̩⁵¹ ʂʐ̩³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʰɑŋ³⁵ pä⁵⁵ t͡ɕi̯oʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

Idiom

不如意事，十常八九

1. things are constantly going wrong

   人終究不是神，不過是有限的人，必須順應人性，善用大自然的潛力，站在「不如意事，十常八九」的局限中，以神妙莫測的模式來使其吉多凶少。 [MSC, trad.]
   人终究不是神，不过是有限的人，必须顺应人性，善用大自然的潜力，站在「不如意事，十常八九」的局限中，以神妙莫测的模式来使其吉多凶少。 [MSC, simp.]

   Rén zhōngjiū bùshì shén, bùguò shì yǒuxiàn de rén, bìxū shùnyìng rénxìng, shàn yòng dàzìrán de qiánlì, zhàn zài “bùrúyìshì, shíchángbājiǔ” de júxiàn zhōng, yǐ shénmiào mòcè de móshì lái shǐ qí jíduōxiōngshào. [Pinyin]

   People are not gods; they are humans with human limitations, and so must accommodate human nature. One must find a good way to utilize Mother Nature's potential. Within the boundaries of a life where things are constantly going wrong, one must find a way to think outside of the box so that one can have more hits than misses.