朝聞道，夕死可矣

Chinese
 
morning; to face; towards; facing; direct; a dynasty; the imperial court; (abbr.) Korea, esp. N. Korea
 
hear; news; celebrated; sniff at
 
direction; way; method; road; path; principle; truth; reason; skill; Tao (of Taoism); a measure word; to say; to speak; to talk
 dusk; evening
 
to die; impassable; uncrossable; inflexible; rigid
 
can; may; able to; certain(ly); to suit; (particle used for emphasis)
 final particle
trad. (朝聞道，夕死可矣) 朝 聞 道 ， 夕 死 可 矣
simp. (朝闻道，夕死可矣) 朝 闻 道 ， 夕 死 可 矣

Etymology

From the Analects.

Pronunciation
  • Mandarin
    (Pinyin): zhāo wén dào, xī sǐ kě yǐ, zhāo wén dào, xì sǐ kě yǐ
    (Zhuyin): ㄓㄠ ㄨㄣˊ ㄉㄠˋ, ㄒㄧ ㄙˇ ㄎㄜˇ ㄧˇ, ㄓㄠ ㄨㄣˊ ㄉㄠˋ, ㄒㄧˋ ㄙˇ ㄎㄜˇ ㄧˇ
  • Cantonese (Jyutping): ziu1 man4 dou6, zik6 sei2 ho2 ji5
  • Mandarin
    • (Standard Chinese, Mainland)+
      • Pinyin: zhāo wén dào, xī sǐ kě yǐ [Phonetic: zhāowéndào,xīsíkéyǐ]
      • Zhuyin: ㄓㄠ ㄨㄣˊ ㄉㄠˋ, ㄒㄧ ㄙˇ ㄎㄜˇ ㄧˇ
      • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: jau wen daw, shi syy kee yyi
      • IPA (key): /ʈ͡ʂɑʊ̯⁵⁵ u̯ən³⁵ tɑʊ̯⁵¹ ɕi⁵⁵ sz̩²¹⁴⁻³⁵ kʰɤ²¹⁴⁻³⁵ i²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
    • (Standard Chinese, Taiwan)+
      • Pinyin: zhāo wén dào, xì sǐ kě yǐ [Phonetic: zhāowéndào,xìsíkéyǐ]
      • Zhuyin: ㄓㄠ ㄨㄣˊ ㄉㄠˋ, ㄒㄧˋ ㄙˇ ㄎㄜˇ ㄧˇ
      • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: jau wen daw, shih syy kee yyi
      • IPA (key): /ʈ͡ʂɑʊ̯⁵⁵ u̯ən³⁵ tɑʊ̯⁵¹⁻⁵³ ɕi⁵¹ sz̩²¹⁴⁻³⁵ kʰɤ²¹⁴⁻³⁵ i²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
  • Cantonese

Proverb

朝聞道，夕死可矣

  1. If in the morning I were to gain knowledge of the correct path (in life), I would be able to die at sunset (without regrets).
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