遠親不如近鄰

See also: 远亲不如近邻

Chinese

		distant relative or relation; remote kinsfolk	to be not like; to be not equal to; to be not as good as to be not like; to be not equal to; to be not as good as; cannot compare to; to be inferior to	next-door neighbour; close neighbour
trad. (遠親不如近鄰)		遠親	不如	近鄰
simp. (远亲不如近邻)		远亲	不如	近邻

Etymology

Probably from an opera from the Yuan dynasty:

豈不聞遠親呵不似我近鄰，我怎敢做的個有口偏無信。 [Classical Chinese, trad.][▼ expand/hide]

岂不闻远亲呵不似我近邻，我怎敢做的个有口偏无信。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: Yuan dynasty, 秦簡夫, 《東堂老勸破家子弟》, 第四折

Qǐ bù wén yuǎnqīn hē bùsì wǒ jìnlín, wǒ zěn gǎn zuò de ge yǒu kǒu piān wú xìn. [Pinyin]

(please add an English translation of this example)

Compare English better is a neighbour that is near than a brother far off (Proverbs 27:10b KJV).

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): yuǎnqīn bùrú jìnlín

(Zhuyin): ㄩㄢˇ ㄑㄧㄣㄅㄨˋ ㄖㄨˊ ㄐㄧㄣˋ ㄌㄧㄣˊ
Cantonese (Jyutping): jyun⁵ can¹ bat¹ jyu⁴ gan⁶ leon⁴

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Pinyin: yuǎnqīn bùrú jìnlín
  - Zhuyin: ㄩㄢˇ ㄑㄧㄣㄅㄨˋ ㄖㄨˊ ㄐㄧㄣˋ ㄌㄧㄣˊ
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: yeuanchin buru jinnlin
  - IPA ^(key): /y̯ɛn²¹⁴⁻²¹¹ t͡ɕʰin⁵⁵ pu⁵¹ ʐu³⁵ t͡ɕin⁵¹ lin³⁵/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
  - Jyutping: jyun⁵ can¹ bat¹ jyu⁴ gan⁶ leon⁴
  - Yale: yúhn chān bāt yùh gahn lèuhn
  - Cantonese Pinyin: jyn⁵ tsan¹ bat⁷ jy⁴ gan⁶ loen⁴
  - Guangdong Romanization: yun⁵ cen¹ bed¹ yu⁴ gen⁶ lên⁴
  - IPA ^(key): /jyːn¹³ t͡sʰɐn⁵⁵ pɐt̚⁵ jyː²¹ kɐn²² lɵn²¹/

Proverb

遠親不如近鄰

Nearby neighbours are better than distant cousins (because they can help and take care of each other).
- 你明日倘或再去做時，帶了些錢在身邊，也買些酒食與他回禮。常言道：『遠親不如近鄰』，休要失了人情。 [Written Vernacular Chinese, trad.]
  你明日倘或再去做时，带了些钱在身边，也买些酒食与他回礼。常言道：‘远亲不如近邻’，休要失了人情。 [Written Vernacular Chinese, simp.]
  From: Shi Nai'an, Water Margin, circa 14^th century CE
  Nǐ míngrì tǎnghuò zài qù zuò shí, dài le xiē qián zài shēnbiān, yě mǎi xiē jiǔshí yǔ tā huílǐ. Chángyán dào: ‘Yuǎnqīn bùrú jìnlín’, xiū yào shī le rénqíng. [Pinyin]
  (please add an English translation of this example)

This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.