不食人間煙火

Chinese

not; no
 
eat; food; to feed
eat; food; to feed; animal feed
the human world; the world of mortals smoke and fire; cooked food
trad. (不食人間煙火) 不 食 人間 煙火
simp. (不食人间烟火) 不 食 人间 烟火
Literally: “not eat anything cooked by people”.

Etymology

According to folklore, the daoists believed that celestial beings (仙人) never ate cooked food. Later on, this phrase was used to describe a person who has other-worldly qualities similar to that of celestial beings.

Pronunciation


Idiom

不食人間煙火

  1. out of touch; no sense of the practical
    這一群不食人間煙火的人,根本不知道別人的實際痛苦! [MSC, trad.]
    这一群不食人间烟火的人,根本不知道别人的实际痛苦! [MSC, simp.]
    Zhè yī qún bùshírénjiānyānhuǒ de rén, gēnběn bù zhīdào biérén de shíjì tòngkǔ! [Pinyin]
    These people who are out of touch with reality just don't understand the real suffering of others!
  2. other-worldly
  3. to not eat anything
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.