肥水不流外人田
Meanings
- lit. don't let one's own fertile water flow into others' field
- fig. keep the goodies within the family (proverb)
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Mandarin tones
2–3–4–2–4–2–2 · fei2 shui3 bu4 liu2 wai4 ren2 tian2
Compare attested words with these syllables ↗Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.
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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.
Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading
Rime Cantonese 粵拼
fei4 seoi2 bat1 lau4 ngoi6 jan4 tin4
Cantonese word readings for 肥水不流外人田. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.
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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section
Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.
proverb
- synonym of 肥水不落外人田 (féishuǐ bù luò wàirén tián, “a benefit should not be given to others and should be shared exclusively among one’s own people”)
Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history
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