臥薪嘗膽

See also: 卧薪尝胆

Chinese

		to lie; to crouch	fuel; salary	to taste; flavour; indicator of past tense to taste; flavour; indicator of past tense; already; ever; once; test; formerly	the gall; the nerve; courage the gall; the nerve; courage; guts; gall bladder
trad. (臥薪嘗膽/臥薪嚐膽)		臥	薪	嘗/嚐	膽
simp. (卧薪尝胆)		卧	薪	尝	胆
Literally: “to sleep on brushwood and taste gall”.

Etymology

From the story of the King Goujian of Yue [5th BCE], who forced himself to sleep on firewood and lick a gallbladder everyday to remember the humiliation of his previous defeat by the State of Wu.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): wòxīnchángdǎn

  (Zhuyin): ㄨㄛˋ ㄒㄧㄣ ㄔㄤˊ ㄉㄢˇ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): ngo⁶ san¹ soeng⁴ daam²

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: wòxīnchángdǎn
    • Zhuyin: ㄨㄛˋ ㄒㄧㄣ ㄔㄤˊ ㄉㄢˇ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: wòsinchángdǎn
    • Wade–Giles: wo⁴-hsin¹-chʻang²-tan³
    • Yale: wò-syīn-cháng-dǎn
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: wohshincharngdaan
    • Palladius: восиньчандань (vosinʹčandanʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /wɔ⁵¹ ɕin⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂʰɑŋ³⁵ tän²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: ngo⁶ san¹ soeng⁴ daam²
    • Yale: ngoh sān sèuhng dáam
    • Cantonese Pinyin: ngo⁶ san¹ soeng⁴ daam²
    • Guangdong Romanization: ngo⁶ sen¹ sêng⁴ dam²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ŋɔː²² sɐn⁵⁵ sœːŋ²¹ taːm³⁵/

Idiom

臥薪嘗膽

1. to undergo self-imposed hardships; to nurse vengeance; to endure hardships to accomplish some ambition

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (臥薪嘗膽):

• → Japanese: 臥(が)薪(しん)嘗(しょう)胆(たん) (gashinshōtan)
• → Korean: 와신상담(臥薪嘗膽) (wasinsangdam)
• → Vietnamese: ngọa tân thường đảm (臥薪嘗膽)

• → Vietnamese: nằm gai nếm mật, nếm mật nằm gai (calques)