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這山望著那山高

简这山望着那山高 · 繁這山望著那山高

Mandarin · pinyin zhè shān wàng zhe nà shān gāo

lit. the next mountain looks taller (idiom); fig. not satisfied with one's current position
the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence

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Characters in this entry

這: zhè · this, the, here
山: shān · mountain, hill, peak
望: wàng · to look at, look forward; to hope, expect
著: zhù · zhe · manifest; (Cant.) to wear
那: nà · that, that one, those
高: gāo · high, tall; lofty, elevated; Kangxi radical 189
这: zhè · this, the, here
着: zhe · make move, take action

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

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Mandarin tones

4–1–4–5–4–1–1 · zhe4 shan1 wang4 zhe5 na4 shan1 gao1

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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.

這山望著那山高 · find source passages ↗ · 这山望着那山高 · find source passages ↗

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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

the grass is always greener on the other side

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

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