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泥菩薩過江，自身難保

简泥菩萨过江，自身难保 · 繁泥菩薩過江，自身難保

Mandarin · pinyin ní pú sà guò jiāng , zì shēn nán bǎo

like a clay Bodhisattva fording a river, can't guarantee his own safety
unable to save oneself, let alone others

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Characters in this entry

泥: ní · mud, mire; earth, clay; plaster
菩: pú · herb, aromatic plant
薩: Look up this written character
過: guò · pass, pass through, go across
江: jiāng · large river; the Yangzi; surname
自: zì · self, private, personal; from; Kangxi radical 132
身: shēn · body; trunk, hull; Kangxi radical 158
難: Look up this written character
保: bǎo · protect, safeguard, defend, care
萨: sà · Buddhist gods or immortals
过: guò · pass, pass through, go across
难: nán · difficult, arduous, hard; unable

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

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Compare dictionary sources 1 Cantonese reading

nai4 pou4 saat3 gwo3 gong1 ，zi6 san1 naan4 bou2

Pleco · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Word reading; meanings not aligned.