天要下雨，娘要嫁人
Chinese
| day; sky; heaven | important; vital; to want important; vital; to want; to be going to; must; demand; ask; request; coerce |
to rain | mother; young lady | important; vital; to want important; vital; to want; to be going to; must; demand; ask; request; coerce |
to get married; to marry | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| trad. (天要下雨，娘要嫁人) | 天 | 要 | 下雨 | ， | 娘 | 要 | 嫁人 | |
| simp. #(天要下雨，娘要嫁人) | 天 | 要 | 下雨 | ， | 娘 | 要 | 嫁人 | |
| Literally: “The sky wants to rain, and the daughter wants to marry.” | ||||||||
Etymology
A misrepresentation of the phrase "天要落雨，糧要解營" (lit, "When it started to rain, the food must be escorted") by Liu Bowen.[1]
Pronunciation
- Mandarin
- (Pinyin): tiān yào xiàyǔ, niáng yào jiàrén
- (Zhuyin): ㄊㄧㄢ ㄧㄠˋ ㄒㄧㄚˋ ㄩˇ , ㄋㄧㄤˊ ㄧㄠˋ ㄐㄧㄚˋ ㄖㄣˊ
- Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)+
- Hanyu Pinyin: tiān yào xiàyǔ, niáng yào jiàrén
- Zhuyin: ㄊㄧㄢ ㄧㄠˋ ㄒㄧㄚˋ ㄩˇ , ㄋㄧㄤˊ ㄧㄠˋ ㄐㄧㄚˋ ㄖㄣˊ
- Tongyong Pinyin: tian yào siàyǔ, niáng yào jiàrén
- Wade–Giles: tʻien1 yao4 hsia4-yü3, niang2 yao4 chia4-jên2
- Yale: tyān yàu syà-yǔ-, nyáng yàu jyà-rén
- Gwoyeu Romatzyh: tian yaw shiahyeu, niang yaw jiahren
- Palladius: тянь яо сяюй, нян яо цзяжэнь (tjanʹ jao sjajuj, njan jao czjažɛnʹ)
- Sinological IPA (key): /tʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ jɑʊ̯⁵¹⁻⁵³ ɕi̯ä⁵¹ y²¹⁴⁻²¹ ni̯ɑŋ³⁵ jɑʊ̯⁵¹⁻⁵³ t͡ɕi̯ä⁵¹ ʐən³⁵/
- (Standard Chinese)+
Phrase
天要下雨，娘要嫁人
- (often humorous) Used to describe a situation that is now beyond redemption.
- 天要下雨，娘要嫁人。沒辦法吧。林彪要跑，就隨他去吧。不要打。 [MSC, trad.]
- From: 1971, Mao Zedong's response after Lin Biao's exile
- Tiān yào xiàyǔ, niáng yào jiàrén. méibànfǎ ba. Lín Biāo yào pǎo, jiù suí tā qù ba. Bùyào dǎ. [Pinyin]
- The sky wants to rain, and the daughter wants to marry. There's nothing we can do. If Lin Biao wants to flee, let him go. Don't fight against him.
天要下雨，娘要嫁人。没办法吧。林彪要跑，就随他去吧。不要打。 [MSC, simp.]
Synonyms
- 天要落雨，娘要嫁人