DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

愚公移山

Mandarin · pinyin yú gōng yí shān

the old man moves mountains (idiom); fig. where there's a will, there's a way

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

愚: yú · stupid, doltish, foolish
公: gōng · fair, equitable; public; duke
移: yí · change place, shift; move about
山: shān · mountain, hill, peak

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

2–1–2–1 · yu2 gong1 yi2 shan1

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

4character links

Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗

Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

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.

愚公移山 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Rime · Wiktionary

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

jyu4 gung1 ji4 saan1

Cantonese word readings for 愚公移山. 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.

phrase

(idiomatic) to be resolute in one's endeavor, no matter what hardships one encounters

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack