弱水三千，只取一瓢飲

Chinese

 
only; merely; just; but
 
to take; to get; to choose; to fetch
 
one; single; a; (before verbs) as soon as, once; (before a noun) entire (family, etc.)
 dipper; ladle drink
trad. (弱水三千，只取一瓢飲) 弱水三千 ， 只 取 一 瓢 飲
simp. (弱水三千，只取一瓢饮) 弱水三千 ， 只 取 一 瓢 饮

Etymology

From: Chapter 91 of the Dream of the Red Chamber

  • Literally: (although) the Ruo River is three thousand li long, one only drinks one ladle worth of water from it.
    Later on, this phrase was used as a metaphor for choosing only one companion out of all potential mates.

Pronunciation

  • Mandarin
    (Pinyin): ruòshuǐsānqiān, zhǐ qǔ yīpiáo yǐn
    (Zhuyin): ㄖㄨㄛˋ ㄕㄨㄟˇ ㄙㄢ ㄑㄧㄢ, ㄓˇ ㄑㄩˇ ㄧ ㄆㄧㄠˊ ㄧㄣˇ
  • Mandarin
    • (Standard Chinese)+
      • Pinyin: ruòshuǐsānqiān, zhǐ qǔ yīpiáo yǐn [Phonetic: ruòshuǐsānqiān,zhíqǔyìpiáoyǐn]
      • Zhuyin: ㄖㄨㄛˋ ㄕㄨㄟˇ ㄙㄢ ㄑㄧㄢ, ㄓˇ ㄑㄩˇ ㄧ ㄆㄧㄠˊ ㄧㄣˇ
      • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: ruohshoeisanchian, jyy cheu yi1pyau yyin
      • IPA (key): /ʐu̯ɔ⁵¹ ʂu̯eɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹¹ sa̠n⁵⁵ t͡ɕʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩²¹⁴⁻³⁵ t͡ɕʰy²¹⁴⁻²¹¹ i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ pʰi̯ɑʊ̯³⁵ in²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

Idiom

弱水三千，只取一瓢飲

  1. there are so many potential lovers to choose from, but you only pick one from among those potential lovers
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