獨樂樂不如眾樂樂

Chinese

 
alone; independent; single
alone; independent; single; sole; only
to play music happiness; joy; pleasure
 
to be not like; to be not equal to; to be not as good as
to be not like; to be not equal to; to be not as good as; cannot compare to; to be inferior to
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) 不如 /
simp. (独乐乐不如众乐乐) 不如
Literally: “the joy of playing music alone is not as good as the joy of playing music together”.

Etymology

From Mencius (《孟子·梁惠王下》):

:「獨樂樂?」:「不若。」
:「眾樂樂?」:「不若。」
[Classical Chinese, trad.]
:“独乐乐?”:“不若。”
:“众乐乐?”:“不若。”
[Classical Chinese, simp.]
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."

Pronunciation

  • Mandarin
    (Pinyin): dú yuè lè bùrú zhòng yuè lè
    (Zhuyin): ㄉㄨˊ ㄩㄝˋ ㄌㄜˋ ㄅㄨˋ ㄖㄨˊ ㄓㄨㄥˋ ㄩㄝˋ ㄌㄜˋ
  • Cantonese (Jyutping): duk6 ngok6 lok6 bat1 jyu4 zung3 ngok6 lok6

Phrase

獨樂樂不如眾樂樂

  1. It is much more joyful to share the joy than enjoy alone.
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