後生可畏
Chinese
| young person; young generation; descendants | dreadful; horrible; formidable | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| trad. (後生可畏) | 後生 | 可畏 | |
| simp. (后生可畏) | 后生 | 可畏 | |
Etymology
From the Analects, Book 9 (《論語·子罕》):
- 子曰：「後生可畏，焉知來者之不如今也？四十、五十而無聞焉，斯亦不足畏也已。」 [Traditional Chinese poetry, trad.]
- From: The Analects of Confucius, c. 475 – 221 BCE, translated based on James Legge's version
- Zǐyuē: “Hòushēng kěwèi, yān zhī láizhě zhī bùrú jīn yě? Sìshí, wǔshí ér wú wén yān, sī yì bùzú wèi yě yǐ.” [Pinyin]
- The Master said, "A youth is to be regarded with respect. How do we know that his future will not be equal to our present? If he reach the age of forty or fifty, and has not made himself heard of, then indeed he will not be worth being regarded with respect."
子曰：「后生可畏，焉知来者之不如今也？四十、五十而无闻焉，斯亦不足畏也已。」 [Traditional Chinese poetry, simp.]
Pronunciation
- Mandarin
- (Pinyin): hòushēngkěwèi
- (Zhuyin): ㄏㄡˋ ㄕㄥ ㄎㄜˇ ㄨㄟˋ
- Cantonese (Jyutping): hau6 saang1 ho2 wai3 / hau6 sang1 ho2 wai3
- Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)+
- Hanyu Pinyin: hòushēngkěwèi
- Zhuyin: ㄏㄡˋ ㄕㄥ ㄎㄜˇ ㄨㄟˋ
- Tongyong Pinyin: hòushengkěwèi
- Wade–Giles: hou4-shêng1-kʻo3-wei4
- Yale: hòu-shēng-kě-wèi
- Gwoyeu Romatzyh: howshengkeewey
- Palladius: хоушэнкэвэй (xoušɛnkɛvɛj)
- Sinological IPA (key): /xoʊ̯⁵¹ ʂɤŋ⁵⁵ kʰɤ²¹⁴⁻²¹ weɪ̯⁵¹/
- (Standard Chinese)+
- Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
- Jyutping: hau6 saang1 ho2 wai3 / hau6 sang1 ho2 wai3
- Yale: hauh sāang hó wai / hauh sāng hó wai
- Cantonese Pinyin: hau6 saang1 ho2 wai3 / hau6 sang1 ho2 wai3
- Guangdong Romanization: heo6 sang1 ho2 wei3 / heo6 seng1 ho2 wei3
- Sinological IPA (key): /hɐu̯²² saːŋ⁵⁵ hɔː³⁵ wɐi̯³³/, /hɐu̯²² sɐŋ⁵⁵ hɔː³⁵ wɐi̯³³/
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
Idiom
後生可畏
- a young person displaying exceptional skills; a young person's abilities must be respected; though inexperienced, the younger generations will surpass us in time