苦海無邊,回頭是岸

简 苦海无边,回头是岸 · 繁 苦海無邊,回頭是岸
Mandarin · pinyin kǔ hǎi wú biān , huí tóu shì àn

Meanings

  1. The sea of bitterness has no bounds, turn your head to see the shore (idiom). Only Buddhist enlightenment can allow one to shed off the abyss of worldly suffering.
  2. Repent and ye shall be saved!
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Characters in this entry

苦
kǔ · bitter; hardship, suffering
海
hǎi · sea, ocean; maritime
無
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邊
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回
huí · return, turn around; a time
頭
tóu · head; top; chief, first; boss
是
shì · indeed, yes, right; to be; demonstrative pronoun, this, that
岸
àn · bank, shore; beach, coast
无
wú · negative, no, not; Kangxi radical 71
边
biān · edge, margin, side, border
头
tóu · head; top; chief, first; boss
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苦海無邊,回頭是岸 · ku3 hai3 wu2 bian1 , hui2 tou2 shi4 an4
CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG · edition 2026-10-13 · source line 93,697
Original dictionary · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source & transformation details
Exact source record苦海無邊,回頭是岸 苦海无边,回头是岸 [ku3 hai3 wu2 bian1 , hui2 tou2 shi4 an4] /The sea of bitterness has no bounds, turn your head to see the shore (idiom). Only Buddhist enlightenment can allow one to shed off the abyss of worldly suffering./Repent and ye shall be saved!/