舉頭三尺有神明

See also: 举头三尺有神明

Chinese

			three	a Chinese foot (M); one-third of a metre; a ruler a Chinese foot (M); one-third of a metre; a ruler; a note musical note on traditional Chinese scale	to have; there is; there are to have; there is; there are; to exist; to be	deity; god
trad. (舉頭三尺有神明)		舉頭	三	尺	有	神明
simp. (举头三尺有神明)		举头	三	尺	有	神明
Literally: “There are gods three feet above your head”.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): jǔtóu sān chǐ yǒu shénmíng

  (Zhuyin): ㄐㄩˇ ㄊㄡˊ ㄙㄢ ㄔˇ ㄧㄡˇ ㄕㄣˊ ㄇㄧㄥˊ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): geoi² tau⁴ saam¹ cek³ jau⁵ san⁴ ming⁴

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: jǔtóu sān chǐ yǒu shénmíng [Phonetic: jǔtóusānchíyǒushénmíng]
    • Zhuyin: ㄐㄩˇ ㄊㄡˊ ㄙㄢ ㄔˇ ㄧㄡˇ ㄕㄣˊ ㄇㄧㄥˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: jyǔtóu san chǐh yǒu shénmíng
    • Wade–Giles: chü³-tʻou² san¹ chʻih³ yu³ shên²-ming²
    • Yale: jyǔ-tóu sān chř yǒu shén-míng
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: jeutour san chyy yeou shernming
    • Palladius: цзюйтоу сань чи ю шэньмин (czjujtou sanʹ či ju šɛnʹmin)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕy²¹⁴⁻²¹ tʰoʊ̯³⁵ sän⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂʰʐ̩²¹⁴⁻³⁵ joʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʂən³⁵ miŋ³⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: geoi² tau⁴ saam¹ cek³ jau⁵ san⁴ ming⁴
    • Yale: géui tàuh sāam chek yáuh sàhn mìhng
    • Cantonese Pinyin: goey² tau⁴ saam¹ tsek⁸ jau⁵ san⁴ ming⁴
    • Guangdong Romanization: gêu² teo⁴ sam¹ cég³ yeo⁵ sen⁴ ming⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kɵy̯³⁵ tʰɐu̯²¹ saːm⁵⁵ t͡sʰɛːk̚³ jɐu̯¹³ sɐn²¹ mɪŋ²¹/

Proverb

舉頭三尺有神明

1. The gods are watching, so don't think you can get away with anything.

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 舉頭三尺有神明 (“The gods are watching from above.”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		舉頭三尺有神明
Northeastern Mandarin	Taiwan	舉頭三尺有神明
Cantonese	Hong Kong	舉頭三尺有神明
Southern Min	Xiamen	攑頭三尺有神明
	Quanzhou	攑頭三尺有神明
	Zhangzhou	攑頭三尺有神明
	Tainan	攑頭三尺有神明

See also

• 人在做，天在看 (rén zài zuò, tiān zài kàn)