山不轉水轉
简 山不转水转 · 繁 山不轉水轉Meanings
- (lit.) if the mountain won't move, the river will go around it (idiom)
- (fig.) there's always a way forward, even when faced with obstacles
Characters in this entry
Explore the spelling
Mandarin tones
1–4–4–3–4 · shan1 bu4 zhuan4 shui3 zhuan4
Compare attested words with these syllables ↗Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.
Connected dictionary
Read this spelling in Classical texts
Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.
山不轉水轉 · find source passages ↗ · 山不转水转 · find source passages ↗
Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading
Rime Cantonese 粵拼
saan1 bat1 zyun3 seoi2 zyun3
Cantonese word readings for 山不轉水轉. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.
CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack
Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section
Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.
proverb
- the world is small enough for people to meet again
Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history
Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack