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待價而沽

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: 待价而沽

Chinese

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wait; treat; deal with
wait; treat; deal with; need; about; intending to do something; stay; delay
 
price; value; valence (on an atom)
price; value; valence (on an atom); great; good; middleman; servant
 
and; as well as; but (not)
and; as well as; but (not); yet (not); (shows causal relation); (shows change of state); (shows contrast)
 
buy; sell
trad. (待價而沽)
simp. (待价而沽)

Etymology

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From the Analects, Book 9 (《論語·子罕》):

子貢:「而沽?」子曰:「。」 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
子贡:「𰅥而沽?」子曰:「。」 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
From: The Analects of Confucius, c. 475 – 221 BCE, translated based on James Legge's version
Zǐgòng yuē: “Yǒu měi yù yú sī, yùn dú ér cáng zhū? Qiú shàn jià ér gū zhū?” Zǐyuē: “Gū zhī zāi! Gū zhī zāi! Wǒ dài jià zhě yě.” [Pinyin]
Zigong said, "There is a beautiful gem here. Should I lay it up in a case and keep it? or should I seek for a good price and sell it?" The Master said, "Sell it! Sell it! But I would wait for one to offer the price."

Pronunciation

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Idiom

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待價而沽

  1. to wait for the highest bid before selling an item; to wait for the best job offer before providing one's service