大器晚成
See also: 大器晩成
Chinese
| treasure | evening; night; late | finish; complete; accomplish finish; complete; accomplish; become; turn into; win; succeed; one tenth | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| trad. (大器晚成) | 大器 | 晚 | 成 | |
| simp. #(大器晚成) | 大器 | 晚 | 成 | |
| Literally: “great vessels take years to produce”. | ||||
Etymology
From Tao Te Ching, Chapter 41:
- 大方無隅，大器晚成。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
- From: Tao Te Ching, 4th century BCE
- Dà fāng wú yú, dà qì wǎn chéng. [Pinyin]
- Its largest square doth yet no corner show; a vessel great, it is the slowest made.
大方无隅，大器晚成。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
Pronunciation
- Mandarin
- (Pinyin): dàqìwǎnchéng
- (Zhuyin): ㄉㄚˋ ㄑㄧˋ ㄨㄢˇ ㄔㄥˊ
- Cantonese (Jyutping): daai6 hei3 maan5 sing4
- Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)+
- Hanyu Pinyin: dàqìwǎnchéng
- Zhuyin: ㄉㄚˋ ㄑㄧˋ ㄨㄢˇ ㄔㄥˊ
- Tongyong Pinyin: dàcìwǎnchéng
- Wade–Giles: ta4-chʻi4-wan3-chʻêng2
- Yale: dà-chì-wǎn-chéng
- Gwoyeu Romatzyh: dahchihwoancherng
- Palladius: дациваньчэн (dacivanʹčɛn)
- Sinological IPA (key): /tä⁵¹⁻⁵³ t͡ɕʰi⁵¹ wän²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʈ͡ʂʰɤŋ³⁵/
- (Standard Chinese)+
- Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
- Jyutping: daai6 hei3 maan5 sing4
- Yale: daaih hei máahn sìhng
- Cantonese Pinyin: daai6 hei3 maan5 sing4
- Guangdong Romanization: dai6 héi3 man5 xing4
- Sinological IPA (key): /taːi̯²² hei̯³³ maːn¹³ sɪŋ²¹/
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
Idiom
大器晚成
- a great talent takes time to mature; in the fullness of time, a major figure will develop into a pillar of the state