飲水思源
简 饮水思源 · 繁 飲水思源Meanings
- lit. when you drink water, think of its source (idiom); gratitude for blessings and their well-spring
- Don't forget where your happiness come from.
- Be grateful for all your blessings!
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Mandarin tones
3–3–1–2 · yin3 shui3 si1 yuan2
Compare attested words with these syllables ↗Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.
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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.
飲水思源 · find source passages ↗ · 饮水思源 · find source passages ↗
Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading
Rime Cantonese 粵拼
jam2 seoi2 si1 jyun4
Cantonese word readings for 飲水思源. 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.
phrase
- (idiomatic) to remember where one's happiness comes from; to not forget one's roots or heritage
Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history
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