DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT
失之東隅，收之桑榆
简 失之东隅，收之桑榆 · 繁 失之東隅，收之桑榆Mandarin · pinyin shī zhī dōng yú , shōu zhī sāng yú
Meanings
- to lose at sunrise but gain at sunset (idiom)
- to compensate later for one's earlier loss
- what you lose on the swings you gain on the roundabouts
Characters in this entry
- 失
- shī · lose; make mistake, neglect
- 之
- zhī · marks preceding phrase as modifier of following phrase; it, him her, them; go to
- 東
- dōng · east, eastern, eastward
- 隅
- yú · corner, nook, remote place
- 收
- shōu · gather together, collect; harvest
- 桑
- sāng · mulberry tree; surname
- 榆
- yú · elm tree
- 东
- dōng · east, eastern, eastward
Explore the spelling
Connected dictionary
8character links
Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.Compare dictionary sources 1 Cantonese reading
sat1 zi1 dung1 jyu4 ，sau1 zi1 song1 jyu4
Pleco · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Word reading; meanings not aligned.