獨樂樂不如眾樂樂
Chinese
alone; independent; single alone; independent; single; sole; only |
to play music | happiness; joy; pleasure | numerous; multitude; crowd | to play music | happiness; joy; pleasure | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
trad. (獨樂樂不如眾樂樂/獨樂樂不如衆樂樂) | 獨 | 樂 | 樂 | 不如 | 眾/衆 | 樂 | 樂 | |
simp. (独乐乐不如众乐乐) | 独 | 乐 | 乐 | 不如 | 众 | 乐 | 乐 | |
Literally: “the joy of playing music alone is not as good as the joy of playing music together”. |
Etymology
- 曰:「獨樂樂,與人樂樂,孰樂?」曰:「不若與人。」
- From: Mencius, c. 4th century BCE, translated based on James Legge's version
- Yuē: “Dú yuè lè, yǔ rén yuè lè, shú lè?” Yuē: “Bùruò yǔ rén.”
Yuē: “Yǔ shǎo yuè lè, yǔ zhòng yuè lè, shú lè?” Yuē: “Bùruò yǔ zhòng.” [Pinyin] - Mencius asked, "Which is the more pleasant - to enjoy music by yourself alone, or to enjoy it with others?" "To enjoy it with others," was the reply.
"And which is the more pleasant - to enjoy music with a few, or to enjoy it with many?" "To enjoy it with many."
曰:「與少樂樂,與眾樂樂,孰樂?」曰:「不若與眾。」 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
曰:“独乐乐,与人乐乐,孰乐?”曰:“不若与人。”
曰:“与少乐乐,与众乐乐,孰乐?”曰:“不若与众。” [Classical Chinese, simp.]
Pronunciation
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.