隔岸觀火

Chinese

		to separate; to stand or lie between; to divide to separate; to stand or lie between; to divide; to cut off	bank; shore; beach bank; shore; beach; coast	to look at; to watch; to observe to look at; to watch; to observe; to behold; Taoist monastery	fire; angry; fierce fire; angry; fierce; fiery; thriving
trad. (隔岸觀火)		隔	岸	觀	火
simp. (隔岸观火)		隔	岸	观	火
Literally: “to watch the fires burning across the river”.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): gé'ànguānhuǒ

  (Zhuyin): ㄍㄜˊ ㄢˋ ㄍㄨㄢ ㄏㄨㄛˇ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): gaak³ ngon⁶ gun¹ fo²

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: gé'ànguānhuǒ
    • Zhuyin: ㄍㄜˊ ㄢˋ ㄍㄨㄢ ㄏㄨㄛˇ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: gé-ànguanhuǒ
    • Wade–Giles: ko²-an⁴-kuan¹-huo³
    • Yale: gé-àn-gwān-hwǒ
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: gerannguanhuoo
    • Palladius: гэаньгуаньхо (gɛanʹguanʹxo)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kɤ³⁵ ˀän⁵¹ ku̯än⁵⁵ xu̯ɔ²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: gaak³ ngon⁶ gun¹ fo²
    • Yale: gaak ngohn gūn fó
    • Cantonese Pinyin: gaak⁸ ngon⁶ gun¹ fo²
    • Guangdong Romanization: gag³ ngon⁶ gun¹ fo²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kaːk̚³ ŋɔːn²² kuːn⁵⁵ fɔː³⁵/

Idiom

隔岸觀火

1. (figurative) to delay entering the fray until all others have been exhausted by fighting amongst themselves