不足為外人道

Chinese

 
because of; for; to
because of; for; to; act as; take...to be; to be; to do; to serve as; to become
non-family member; outsider; stranger
 
direction; way; method
direction; way; method; road; path; principle; truth; reason; skill; Tao (of Taoism); a measure word; to say; to speak; to talk
trad. (不足為外人道/不足爲外人道) 不足 / 外人
simp. (不足为外人道) 不足 外人

Etymology

數日辭去:「不足為外人道。」 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
数日辞去:「不足为外人道。」 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
From: The Peach Blossom Spring (桃花源記), by Tao Yuanming, 421 (Wiktionary translation)
Tíng shùrì, cíqù. Cǐ zhōng rén yǔ yún: “Bùzú wèi wàirén dào yě.” [Pinyin]
He stayed on for a few more days before taking his leave. As he was departing, some of them said to him, "No need to tell outsiders about us."

Pronunciation


Idiom

不足為外人道

  1. not fit to be told to others; no need to tell others; this is not to be mentioned to outsiders; this is strictly between ourselves

References

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