三長兩短
Chinese
| three | long; length; forever long; length; forever; always; constantly; chief; head; elder; to grow; to develop |
both; two; some both; two; some; a few; tael |
lack; short | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| trad. (三長兩短) | 三 | 長 | 兩 | 短 | |
| simp. (三长两短) | 三 | 长 | 两 | 短 | |
Etymology
Extended from 長短 / 长短 (chángduǎn), which already has the meaning of “mishap”. 三 and 兩 / 两 are two arbitrary numbers which can also mean “some” (see 二三 (èrsān) and 三兩 / 三两 (sānliǎng)).
Folk etymology states that the term is a euphemism referring to a coffin, which consists of 3 pieces of long and 2 pieces of short wood excluding the cover.
Pronunciation
- Mandarin
- (Pinyin): sānchángliǎngduǎn
- (Zhuyin): ㄙㄢ ㄔㄤˊ ㄌㄧㄤˇ ㄉㄨㄢˇ
- Cantonese (Jyutping): saam1 coeng4 loeng5 dyun2
- Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): saⁿ-tn̂g-nn̄g-té
- Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): 1se-zan6 6lian-toe5
- Xiang (Changsha, Wiktionary): san1 zhan2 lian3 donn3
- Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)+
- Hanyu Pinyin: sānchángliǎngduǎn [Phonetic: sānchángliángduǎn]
- Zhuyin: ㄙㄢ ㄔㄤˊ ㄌㄧㄤˇ ㄉㄨㄢˇ
- Tongyong Pinyin: sanchángliǎngduǎn
- Wade–Giles: san1-chʻang2-liang3-tuan3
- Yale: sān-cháng-lyǎng-dwǎn
- Gwoyeu Romatzyh: sancharngleangdoan
- Palladius: саньчанляндуань (sanʹčanljanduanʹ)
- Sinological IPA (key): /sän⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂʰɑŋ³⁵ li̯ɑŋ²¹⁴⁻³⁵ tu̯än²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
- (Standard Chinese, erhua-ed)+
- Hanyu Pinyin: sānchángliǎngduǎnr [Phonetic: sānchángliángduǎnr]
- Zhuyin: ㄙㄢ ㄔㄤˊ ㄌㄧㄤˇ ㄉㄨㄢˇㄦ
- Tongyong Pinyin: sanchángliǎngduǎnr
- Wade–Giles: san1-chʻang2-liang3-tuan3-ʼrh
- Yale: sān-cháng-lyǎng-dwǎnr
- Gwoyeu Romatzyh: sancharngleangdoal
- Palladius: саньчанляндуаньр (sanʹčanljanduanʹr)
- Sinological IPA (key): /sän⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂʰɑŋ³⁵ li̯ɑŋ²¹⁴⁻³⁵ tu̯ɑɻ²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
- (Standard Chinese)+
- Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
- Jyutping: saam1 coeng4 loeng5 dyun2
- Yale: sāam chèuhng léuhng dyún
- Cantonese Pinyin: saam1 tsoeng4 loeng5 dyn2
- Guangdong Romanization: sam1 cêng4 lêng5 dün2
- Sinological IPA (key): /saːm⁵⁵ t͡sʰœːŋ²¹ lœːŋ¹³ tyːn³⁵/
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
- Southern Min
- (Hokkien: General Taiwanese)
- Pe̍h-ōe-jī: saⁿ-tn̂g-nn̄g-té
- Tâi-lô: sann-tn̂g-nn̄g-té
- Phofsit Daibuun: sva'dngnngxdea
- IPA (Kaohsiung): /sã⁴⁴⁻³³ tŋ̍²³⁻³³ nŋ̍³³⁻²¹ te⁴¹/
- IPA (Taipei): /sã⁴⁴⁻³³ tŋ̍²⁴⁻¹¹ nŋ̍³³⁻¹¹ te⁵³/
- (Hokkien: General Taiwanese)
- Wu
- Xiang
Idiom
三長兩短
- unexpected misfortune; unexpected accident; sudden death
Synonyms
- 冬瓜豆腐 (dōngguā dòufu)
References
“三長兩短”, in 重編國語辭典修訂本 [Revised Mandarin Chinese Dictionary] (in Chinese), National Academy for Educational Research (Taiwan), 2021.