折桂
Chinese
tenth (in price); to break; to fold; to turn; broken (as of rope, stick) |
Cinnamonum cassia; Guangxi Autonomous Region (abbrev.) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| simp. and trad. (折桂) |
折 | 桂 | |
| Literally: “to break off a sprig of osmanthus”. | |||
Etymology
This figurative term has its origin in Xi Shen (郤詵) of the Jin dynasty (265–420), who self-deprecatingly referred to himself before the emperor as:
- “guìlín yī zhī, Kūnshān piàn yù” [Pinyin]
- “a sprig from an osmanthus grove, a chip of jade from Kunshan”
Pronunciation
- Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)+
- Pinyin:
- Zhuyin: ㄓㄜˊ ㄍㄨㄟˋ
- Gwoyeu Romatzyh: jerguey
- IPA (key): /ʈ͡ʂɤ³⁵ ku̯eɪ̯⁵¹/
- (Standard Chinese)+
- Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)+
- Jyutping: zit3 gwai3
- Yale: jit gwai
- Cantonese Pinyin: dzit8 gwai3
- Guangdong Romanization: jid3 guei3
- IPA (key): /t͡siːt̚³ kʷɐi̯³³/
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)+
Verb
折桂
- (literary, figuratively, historical) to pass the imperial examination
- (figuratively) to obtain first place in an examination or competition; to win the laurels
Derived terms
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