夏蟲不可語冰

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Chinese

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summer insects”; insects that are active only during summer cannot; should not; must not
speech; language; dialect
speech; language; dialect; tell to
 
ice
trad. (夏蟲不可語冰) 夏蟲 不可
simp. (夏虫不可语冰) 夏虫 不可
Literally: “Summer insects cannot speak of ice.”

Etymology

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From Zhuangzi:

夏蟲 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
夏虫 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
From: Zhuangzi, circa 3rd – 2nd centuries BCE
Xiàchóng bù kě yǐ yǔ yú bīng zhě, dǔ yú shí yě. [Pinyin]
An insect of the summer cannot be talked with about ice - it knows nothing beyond its own season.

Pronunciation

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Proverb

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夏蟲不可語冰

  1. One cannot engage in meaningful discussions with people with only superficial knowledge or narrow experience

Synonyms

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See also

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