失之東隅，收之桑榆

Chinese

to lose; to miss; to fail 's; him/her/it; this
 
the eastern corner; morning; daybreak; eastern side
 
to receive; to accept; to collect; in care of (used on address line after name)
 's; him/her/it; this mulberry and elm trees; evening
trad. (失之東隅，收之桑榆) 失 之 東隅 ， 收 之 桑榆
simp. (失之东隅，收之桑榆) 失 之 东隅 ， 收 之 桑榆

Etymology

Literally: What you lose in the morning, you gain back in the evening.

Pronunciation

  • Mandarin
    (Pinyin): shī zhī dōngyú, shōu zhī sāngyú
    (Zhuyin): ㄕ ㄓ ㄉㄨㄥ ㄩˊ, ㄕㄡ ㄓ ㄙㄤ ㄩˊ
  • Mandarin
    • (Standard Chinese)+
      • Pinyin: shī zhī dōngyú, shōu zhī sāngyú
      • Zhuyin: ㄕ ㄓ ㄉㄨㄥ ㄩˊ, ㄕㄡ ㄓ ㄙㄤ ㄩˊ
      • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shy jy dongyu, shou jy sangyu
      • IPA (key): /ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ tʊŋ⁵⁵ y³⁵ ʂoʊ̯⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ sɑŋ⁵⁵ y³⁵/

Proverb

失之東隅，收之桑榆

  1. An initial loss can turn into a gain later on.
    用「[[<b>失之東隅]]，[[收之桑榆</b>]]」來形容中國射擊隊１６日在奧運賽場上的表現再合適不過。 [MSC, trad.]
    用“[[<b>失之东隅]]，[[收之桑榆</b>]]”来形容中国射击队１６日在奥运赛场上的表现再合适不过。 [MSC, simp.]
    From: 2004: Xinhua.net staff, 中国射击队在16日：失之东隅 收之桑榆 (Chinese sharp shooting team makes a comeback on the 16th)
    Yòng “shīzhīdōngyú, shōuzhīsāngyú” lái xíngróng zhōngguó shèjīduì １６ rì zài àoyùn sàichǎng shàng de biǎoxiàn zài héshì bù guò. [Pinyin]
    The old saying gain back in the evening what you lost in the morning could not be more appropriate for describing the Chinese sharp shooting team's performance at the olympic games on the 16th.
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