如履薄冰

Chinese

		as (if); such as	shoe; to tread on	thin; slight; meagre thin; slight; meagre; small; ungenerous; unkind; mean; frivolous; despise; belittle; to approach; to go near; peppermint	ice
trad. (如履薄冰)		如	履	薄	冰
simp. ^#(如履薄冰)		如	履	薄	冰
Literally: “like treading on thin ice”.

Etymology

See 戰戰兢兢／战战兢兢 (zhànzhànjīngjīng).

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): rúlǚbóbīng

(Zhuyin): ㄖㄨˊ ㄌㄩˇ ㄅㄛˊ ㄅㄧㄥ
Cantonese (Jyutping): jyu⁴ lei⁵ bok⁶ bing¹

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: rúlǚbóbīng
  - Zhuyin: ㄖㄨˊ ㄌㄩˇ ㄅㄛˊ ㄅㄧㄥ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: rúlyǔbóbing
  - Wade–Giles: ju²-lü³-po²-ping¹
  - Yale: rú-lyǔ-bwó-bīng
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: ruleuborbing
  - Palladius: жулюйбобин (žuljujbobin)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʐu³⁵ ly²¹⁴⁻²¹ pu̯ɔ³⁵ piŋ⁵⁵/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
  - Jyutping: jyu⁴ lei⁵ bok⁶ bing¹
  - Yale: yùh léih bohk bīng
  - Cantonese Pinyin: jy⁴ lei⁵ bok⁹ bing¹
  - Guangdong Romanization: yu⁴ léi⁵ bog⁶ bing¹
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /jyː²¹ lei̯¹³ pɔːk̚² pɪŋ⁵⁵/

Middle Chinese: nyo lijX bak ping

Rime
Character	如	履	薄	冰
Reading #	1/2	1/1	1/1	1/1
Initial (聲)	日 (38)	來 (37)	並 (3)	幫 (1)
Final (韻)	魚 (22)	脂 (15)	鐸 (104)	蒸 (133)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)	Rising (X)	Checked (Ø)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open	Open	Closed	Open
Division (等)	III	III	I	III
Fanqie	人諸切	力几切	傍各切	筆陵切
Baxter	nyo	lijX	bak	ping
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/ȵɨʌ/	/liɪ^X/	/bwɑk̚/	/pɨŋ/
Pan Wuyun	/ȵiɔ/	/li^X/	/bʷɑk̚/	/pɨŋ/
Shao Rongfen	/ȵʑiɔ/	/ljɪ^X/	/buɑk̚/	/pieŋ/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/ȵɨə̆/	/li^X/	/bwak̚/	/piŋ/
Li Rong	/ȵiɔ/	/li^X/	/buɑk̚/	/piəŋ/
Wang Li	/ȵʑĭo/	/li^X/	/buɑk̚/	/pĭəŋ/
Bernhard Karlgren	/ȵʑi̯wo/	/li^X/	/bʱwɑk̚/	/pi̯əŋ/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	rú	lǐ	bó	bīng
Expected Cantonese Reflex	jyu⁴	lei⁵	bok⁶	bing¹

Old Chinese
(Baxter–Sagart): /*na [r]ijʔ [b]ˤak p.rəŋ/

(Zhengzhang): /*nja riʔ baːɡ pŋrɯŋ|ŋrɯŋ/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	如	履	薄	冰
Reading #	2/2	1/1	1/1	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	rú	lǚ	bó	bīng
Middle Chinese	‹ nyo ›	‹ lij^X ›	‹ bak ›	‹ ping ›
Old Chinese	/*na/	/*[r]ijʔ/	/*[b]ˁak/	/p.rəŋ/ (dialect: p.r- > *pr-)
English	as, like, if	tread on; sandal	thin	ice
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. [t] as coda may in fact be -t or -p; Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	如	履	薄	冰	冰
Reading #	1/2	1/1	1/1	1/2	2/2
No.	9623	8603	3487	856	860
Phonetic component	女	履	甫	仌	仌
Rime group	魚	脂	鐸	蒸	蒸
Rime subdivision	0	2	0	0	0
Corresponding MC rime	如	履	泊	冫	凝
Old Chinese	/*nja/	/*riʔ/	/*baːɡ/	/*pŋrɯŋ/	/*ŋrɯŋ/
Notes		說文一曰屍聲，甲文爲眉聲			筆陵切注又切

Idiom

如履薄冰

(figurative) in a careful manner; acting with extreme caution; like skating on thin ice