望洋興嘆

Chinese

		looking upwards; looking into the distance	to heave a sigh; to lament; to bemoan
trad. (望洋興嘆/望洋興歎)		望洋	興嘆/興歎
simp. (望洋兴叹)		望洋	兴叹

Etymology

From the book Zhuangzi.

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): wàngyángxīngtàn

(Zhuyin): ㄨㄤˋ ㄧㄤˊ ㄒㄧㄥㄊㄢˋ
Cantonese (Jyutping): mong⁶ joeng⁴ hing¹ taan³

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Pinyin: wàngyángxīngtàn
  - Zhuyin: ㄨㄤˋ ㄧㄤˊ ㄒㄧㄥㄊㄢˋ
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: wanqyangshingtann
  - IPA ^(key): /u̯ɑŋ⁵¹ i̯ɑŋ³⁵ ɕiŋ⁵⁵ tʰa̠n⁵¹/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
  - Jyutping: mong⁶ joeng⁴ hing¹ taan³
  - Yale: mohng yèuhng hīng taan
  - Cantonese Pinyin: mong⁶ joeng⁴ hing¹ taan³
  - Guangdong Romanization: mong⁶ yêng⁴ hing¹ tan³
  - IPA ^(key): /mɔːŋ²² jœːŋ²¹ hɪŋ⁵⁵ tʰaːn³³/

Idiom

望洋興嘆

to lament one's littleness in face of something vast and great; to feel powerless in face of a great task

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