青出於藍,而青於藍
See also: 青出于蓝,而青于蓝
Chinese
green (blue, black); Qinghai province (abbrev.) | to go out; to come out; to occur to go out; to come out; to occur; to produce; to go beyond; to rise; to put forth; to happen; (a measure word for dramas, plays, or operas) |
in; at; to in; at; to; from; by; than; out of; surname |
blue; indigo plant; surname | and; as well as; but (not) and; as well as; but (not); yet (not); (shows causal relation); (shows change of state); (shows contrast) |
green (blue, black); Qinghai province (abbrev.) | in; at; to in; at; to; from; by; than; out of; surname |
blue; indigo plant; surname | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
trad. (青出於藍,而青於藍) | 青 | 出 | 於 | 藍 | , | 而 | 青 | 於 | 藍 | |
simp. (青出于蓝,而青于蓝) | 青 | 出 | 于 | 蓝 | , | 而 | 青 | 于 | 蓝 | |
Literally: “the color blue is made out of indigo, but is more vivid than indigo”. |
Etymology
From Xunzi:
- 君子曰:學不可以已。青,取之於藍,而青於藍;冰,水為之,而寒於水。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
- From: Xunzi, c. 3rd century BCE
- Jūnzǐ yuē: xué bùkě yǐ yǐ. Qīng, qǔ zhī yú lán, ér qīng yú lán; bīng, shuǐ wèi zhī, ér hán yú shuǐ. [Pinyin]
- The gentleman said: Learning must never cease. Blue is obtained from the indigo plant but is bluer than the plant itself; ice is made from water but is colder than water itself.
君子曰:学不可以已。青,取之于蓝,而青于蓝;冰,水为之,而寒于水。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
Pronunciation
Synonyms
Descendants
- → Japanese: 青は藍より出でて藍より青し (ao wa ai yori idete ai yori aoshi) (calque)
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