時不我待

Chinese

		o'clock; time; when o'clock; time; when; hour; season; period	not; no	I; me	wait; treat; deal with wait; treat; deal with; need; about; intending to do something; stay; delay
trad. (時不我待)		時	不	我	待
simp. (时不我待)		时	不	我	待

Etymology

The word order features the inversion of verb (待) and object (我) in negative sentences in Classical Chinese.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): shíbùwǒdài

  (Zhuyin): ㄕˊ ㄅㄨˋ ㄨㄛˇ ㄉㄞˋ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): si⁴ bat¹ ngo⁵ doi⁶

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: shíbùwǒdài
    • Zhuyin: ㄕˊ ㄅㄨˋ ㄨㄛˇ ㄉㄞˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: shíhbùwǒdài
    • Wade–Giles: shih²-pu⁴-wo³-tai⁴
    • Yale: shŕ-bù-wǒ-dài
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shyrbuwooday
    • Palladius: шибуводай (šibuvodaj)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʂʐ̩³⁵ pu⁵¹ wɔ²¹⁴⁻²¹ taɪ̯⁵¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: si⁴ bat¹ ngo⁵ doi⁶
    • Yale: sìh bāt ngóh doih
    • Cantonese Pinyin: si⁴ bat⁷ ngo⁵ doi⁶
    • Guangdong Romanization: xi⁴ bed¹ ngo⁵ doi⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /siː²¹ pɐt̚⁵ ŋɔː¹³ tɔːi̯²²/

Idiom

時不我待

1. time waits for no one