他山之石，可以攻玉

Chinese

		he; him; other	mountain; hill	's; him/her/it; this	rock; stone; 10 pecks		can; may; can can; may; can; to be able to	to attack; to accuse; to study	jade
trad. (他山之石，可以攻玉)		他	山	之	石	，	可以	攻	玉
simp. #(他山之石，可以攻玉)		他	山	之	石	，	可以	攻	玉
Literally: “Stones from another hill can be used to polish my jade”.

Etymology

From the Classic of Poetry, poem 184 (《詩經·小雅·鶴鳴》):

樂彼之園，爰有樹檀，其下維穀。
他山之石，可以攻玉。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, trad.]

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乐彼之园，爰有树檀，其下维谷。
他山之石，可以攻玉。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: The Classic of Poetry, c. 11^th – 7^th centuries BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

Lè bǐ zhī yuán, yuán yǒu shù tán, qí xià wéi gǔ.
Tā shān zhī shí, kěyǐ gōng yù. [Pinyin]

Pleasant is that garden, In which are the sandal trees;
But beneath them is the paper-mulberry tree,
The stones of those hills, May be used to polish gems.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): tāshānzhīshí, kěyǐgōngyù

  (Zhuyin): ㄊㄚ ㄕㄢ ㄓ ㄕˊ , ㄎㄜˇ ㄧˇ ㄍㄨㄥ ㄩˋ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): taa¹ saan¹ zi¹ sek⁶, ho² ji⁵ gung¹ juk⁶

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: tāshānzhīshí, kěyǐgōngyù [Phonetic: tāshānzhīshí,kéyǐgōngyù]
    • Zhuyin: ㄊㄚ ㄕㄢ ㄓ ㄕˊ , ㄎㄜˇ ㄧˇ ㄍㄨㄥ ㄩˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: tashanjhihshíh, kěyǐgongyù
    • Wade–Giles: tʻa¹-shan¹-chih¹-shih², kʻo³-i³-kung¹-yü⁴
    • Yale: tā-shān-jr̄-shŕ-, kě-yǐ-gūng-yù
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: tashanjyshyr, keeyiigongyuh
    • Palladius: ташаньчжиши, кэигунъюй (tašanʹčžiši, kɛigunʺjuj)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /tʰä⁵⁵ ʂän⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ ʂʐ̩³⁵ kʰɤ²¹⁴⁻³⁵ i²¹⁴⁻²¹ kʊŋ⁵⁵ y⁵¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: taa¹ saan¹ zi¹ sek⁶, ho² ji⁵ gung¹ juk⁶
    • Yale: tā sāan jī sehk, hó yíh gūng yuhk
    • Cantonese Pinyin: taa¹ saan¹ dzi¹ sek⁹, ho² ji⁵ gung¹ juk⁹
    • Guangdong Romanization: ta¹ san¹ ji¹ ség⁶, ho² yi⁵ gung¹ yug⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /tʰaː⁵⁵ saːn⁵⁵ t͡siː⁵⁵ sɛːk̚² hɔː³⁵ jiː¹³ kʊŋ⁵⁵ jʊk̚²/

Proverb

他山之石，可以攻玉

1. (figurative) advice from others may help remedy one's own shortcomings