青梅竹馬
See also: 青梅竹马
Chinese
[edit]| green (blue, black); Qinghai province (abbrev.) | plum flower | hobby horse; bamboo horse used in folk dance | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| trad. (青梅竹馬/靑梅竹馬) | 青/靑 | 梅 | 竹馬 | |
| simp. (青梅竹马) | 青 | 梅 | 竹马 | |
| Literally: “green plums and bamboo horse”. | ||||
Etymology
[edit]From a poem by Tang dynasty poet Li Bai:
- 妾髮初覆額，折花門前劇。郎騎竹馬來，繞床弄青梅。同居長干里，兩小無嫌猜。十四為君婦，羞顏未嘗開。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
- From: Li Bai (701–762), Ballad of a Trader's Wife (長干里), translated by Xu Yuanchong
- Qiè fà chū fù é, zhé huā mén qián jù. Láng qí zhúmǎ lái, rào chuáng nòng qīng méi. Tóngjū cháng gān lǐ, liǎng xiǎo wú xián cāi. Shísì wéi jūn fù, xiū yán wèicháng kāi. [Pinyin]
- My forehead covered by my hair cut straight,
I played with flowers pluck'd before the gate.
On hobby horse you came upon the scene,
Around the well we played with plums still green.
We lived, close neighbors on Riverside Lane,
Carefree and innocent, we children twain.
At fourteen years when I became your bride,
I'd often turn my bashful face aside. […]
妾发初覆额，折花门前剧。郎骑竹马来，绕床弄青梅。同居长干里，两小无嫌猜。十四为君妇，羞颜未尝开。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
The same poem was also the source of the idiom 兩小無猜／两小无猜 (liǎngxiǎowúcāi), which has a very similar meaning.
Pronunciation
[edit]- Mandarin
- Cantonese (Jyutping): cing1 mui4 zuk1 maa5
- Southern Min
- (Hokkien, POJ): chheng-mûi-tiok-má
- (Teochew, Peng'im): cên1 bhuê5 dêg4 bhê2
- Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): 1chin-me-tsoq-ma
- Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)+
- Hanyu Pinyin:
- Zhuyin: ㄑㄧㄥ ㄇㄟˊ ㄓㄨˊ ㄇㄚˇ
- Tongyong Pinyin: cingméijhúmǎ
- Wade–Giles: chʻing1-mei2-chu2-ma3
- Yale: chīng-méi-jú-mǎ
- Gwoyeu Romatzyh: chingmeijwumaa
- Palladius: цинмэйчжума (cinmɛjčžuma)
- Sinological IPA (key): /t͡ɕʰiŋ⁵⁵ meɪ̯³⁵ ʈ͡ʂu³⁵ mä²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
- (Standard Chinese)+
- Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
- Jyutping: cing1 mui4 zuk1 maa5
- Yale: chīng mùih jūk máh
- Cantonese Pinyin: tsing1 mui4 dzuk7 maa5
- Guangdong Romanization: qing1 mui4 zug1 ma5
- Sinological IPA (key): /t͡sʰɪŋ⁵⁵ muːi̯²¹ t͡sʊk̚⁵ maː¹³/
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
- Southern Min
- (Hokkien)
- Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chheng-mûi-tiok-má
- Tâi-lô: tshing-muî-tiok-má
- Phofsit Daibuun: zhengmui'diokmar
- IPA (Xiamen): /t͡sʰiɪŋ⁴⁴⁻²² muĩ²⁴⁻²² tiɔk̚³²⁻⁴ mã⁵³/
- IPA (Quanzhou): /t͡sʰiɪŋ³³ muĩ²⁴⁻²² tiɔk̚⁵⁻²⁴ mã⁵⁵⁴/
- IPA (Zhangzhou): /t͡sʰiɪŋ⁴⁴⁻²² muĩ¹³⁻²² tiɔk̚³²⁻⁵ mã⁵³/
- IPA (Taipei): /t͡sʰiɪŋ⁴⁴⁻³³ muĩ²⁴⁻¹¹ tiɔk̚³²⁻⁴ mã⁵³/
- IPA (Kaohsiung): /t͡sʰiɪŋ⁴⁴⁻³³ muĩ²³⁻³³ tiɔk̚³²⁻⁴ mã⁴¹/
- (Teochew)
- Peng'im: cên1 bhuê5 dêg4 bhê2
- Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: tsheⁿ buê tek bé
- Sinological IPA (key): /t͡sʰẽ³³⁻²³ bue⁵⁵ tek̚²⁻⁴ be⁵²⁻²¹/
- (Hokkien)
- Wu
- Middle Chinese: tsheng mwoj trjuwk maeX
Idiom
[edit]青梅竹馬
- a girl and a boy playing innocently together; a man and a woman who had an innocent affection for each other in childhood; childhood sweethearts
Descendants
[edit]References
[edit]- 蔡俊明 [Cai Junming], editor (1991), “青梅竹馬 ts'e~˧ bue˥ tek˨꜒ be˥˧꜕꜖”, in 潮州方言詞滙 / 潮州方言词滙 (Cháozhōu fāngyán cíhuì), 香港 [Hong Kong]: 香港中文大學 / 香港中文大学 [The Chinese University of Hong Kong]
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