患得患失

Chinese

		misfortune; suffer (from illness); trouble misfortune; suffer (from illness); trouble; danger; worry; to contract (a disease)	get; obtain; gain get; obtain; gain; proper; suitable; proud; contented; allow; permit; ready; finished; a sentence particle used after a verb to show effect; degree or possibility; to have to; must; ought to; to need to	misfortune; suffer (from illness); trouble misfortune; suffer (from illness); trouble; danger; worry; to contract (a disease)	to lose; to miss; to fail
simp. and trad. (患得患失)		患	得	患	失

Etymology

From the Analects, Book 17 (《論語·陽貨》):

子曰：「鄙夫！可與事君也與哉？其未得之也，患得之；既得之，患失之。苟患失之，無所不至矣。」 [Classical Chinese, trad.]

子曰：「鄙夫！可与事君也与哉？其未得之也，患得之；既得之，患失之。苟患失之，无所不至矣。」 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: The Analects of Confucius, c. 475 – 221 BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

Zǐyuē: “Bǐ fū! Kě yǔ shì jūn yě yǔ zāi? Qí wèi dé zhī yě, huàn dé zhī; jì dé zhī, huàn shī zhī. Gǒu huàn shī zhī, wú suǒ bù zhì yǐ.” [Pinyin]

The Master said, "There are those mean creatures! How impossible it is along with them to serve one's prince! While they have not got their aims, their anxiety is how to get them. When they have got them, their anxiety is lest they should lose them. When they are anxious lest such things should be lost, there is nothing to which they will not proceed."

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): huàndéhuànshī

(Zhuyin): ㄏㄨㄢˋ ㄉㄜˊ ㄏㄨㄢˋ ㄕ
Cantonese (Jyutping): waan⁶ dak¹ waan⁶ sat¹

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: huàndéhuànshī
  - Zhuyin: ㄏㄨㄢˋ ㄉㄜˊ ㄏㄨㄢˋ ㄕ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: huàndéhuànshih
  - Wade–Giles: huan⁴-tê²-huan⁴-shih¹
  - Yale: hwàn-dé-hwàn-shr̄
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: huannderhuannshy
  - Palladius: хуаньдэхуаньши (xuanʹdɛxuanʹši)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /xu̯än⁵¹ tɤ³⁵ xu̯än⁵¹ ʂʐ̩⁵⁵/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
  - Jyutping: waan⁶ dak¹ waan⁶ sat¹
  - Yale: waahn dāk waahn sāt
  - Cantonese Pinyin: waan⁶ dak⁷ waan⁶ sat⁷
  - Guangdong Romanization: wan⁶ deg¹ wan⁶ sed¹
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /waːn²² tɐk̚⁵ waːn²² sɐt̚⁵/

Verb

患得患失

to be mean; to be tight-fisted
to be overcautious; to tend to avoid risks