望梅止渴

Chinese

		hope; expect; to visit hope; expect; to visit; to gaze (into the distance); look towards; towards	plum flower	to quench one's thirst
simp. and trad. (望梅止渴)		望	梅	止渴
Literally: “to quench one's thirst by thinking of plums”.

Etymology

From the tale of the warlord Cao Cao deceiving his severely dehydrated troops with the promise of a forest of plums not far ahead.

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): wàngméizhǐkě

(Zhuyin): ㄨㄤˋ ㄇㄟˊ ㄓˇ ㄎㄜˇ
Cantonese (Jyutping): mong⁶ mui⁴ zi² hot³

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Pinyin: wàngméizhǐkě [Phonetic: wàngméizhíkě]
  - Zhuyin: ㄨㄤˋ ㄇㄟˊ ㄓˇ ㄎㄜˇ
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: wanqmeijyykee
  - IPA ^(key): /u̯ɑŋ⁵¹ meɪ̯³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩²¹⁴⁻³⁵ kʰɤ²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
  - Jyutping: mong⁶ mui⁴ zi² hot³
  - Yale: mohng mùih jí hot
  - Cantonese Pinyin: mong⁶ mui⁴ dzi² hot⁸
  - Guangdong Romanization: mong⁶ mui⁴ ji² hod³
  - IPA ^(key): /mɔːŋ²² muːi̯²¹ t͡siː³⁵ hɔːt̚³/

Idiom

望梅止渴

to console oneself with illusions

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