投桃報李

Chinese

		to throw; to send	peach	to announce; to inform; report to announce; to inform; report; newspaper; to repay; to recompense; revenge	surname; plum
trad. (投桃報李)		投	桃	報	李
simp. (投桃报李)		投	桃	报	李
Literally: “toss a peach, get back a plum”.

Etymology

From the Classic of Poetry, poem 256 (《詩經·大雅·抑》):

投我以桃，報之以李。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, trad.]

---

投我以桃，报之以李。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, simp.]

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

Tóu wǒ yǐ táo, bào zhī yǐ lǐ. [Pinyin]

When one throws to me a peach, I return to him a plum.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): tóutáobàolǐ

  (Zhuyin): ㄊㄡˊ ㄊㄠˊ ㄅㄠˋ ㄌㄧˇ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): tau⁴ tou⁴ bou³ lei⁵

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: tóutáobàolǐ
    • Zhuyin: ㄊㄡˊ ㄊㄠˊ ㄅㄠˋ ㄌㄧˇ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: tóutáobàolǐ
    • Wade–Giles: tʻou²-tʻao²-pao⁴-li³
    • Yale: tóu-táu-bàu-lǐ
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: tourtaurbawlii
    • Palladius: тоутаобаоли (toutaobaoli)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /tʰoʊ̯³⁵ tʰɑʊ̯³⁵ pɑʊ̯⁵¹ li²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: tau⁴ tou⁴ bou³ lei⁵
    • Yale: tàuh tòuh bou léih
    • Cantonese Pinyin: tau⁴ tou⁴ bou³ lei⁵
    • Guangdong Romanization: teo⁴ tou⁴ bou³ léi⁵
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /tʰɐu̯²¹ tʰou̯²¹ pou̯³³ lei̯¹³/

Idiom

投桃報李

1. to return a favor; to exchange gifts; you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours.