青出於藍,而青於藍

Chinese

green (blue, black); Qinghai province (abbrev.)
 
to go out; to come out; to occur
to go out; to come out; to occur; to produce; to go beyond; to rise; to put forth; to happen; (a measure word for dramas, plays, or operas)
 
in; at; to
in; at; to; from; by; than; out of; surname
blue; indigo plant; surname
 
and; as well as; but (not)
and; as well as; but (not); yet (not); (shows causal relation); (shows change of state); (shows contrast)
green (blue, black); Qinghai province (abbrev.)
 
in; at; to
in; at; to; from; by; than; out of; surname
blue; indigo plant; surname
trad. (青出於藍,而青於藍) 青 出 於 藍 , 而 青 於 藍
simp. (青出于蓝,而青于蓝) 青 出 于 蓝 , 而 青 于 蓝
Literally: “the color blue is made out of indigo, but is more vivid than indigo”.

Etymology

From Xunzi:

君子曰:學不可以已。青,取之於藍,而青於藍;冰,水為之,而寒於水。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
君子曰:学不可以已。青,取之于蓝,而青于蓝;冰,水为之,而寒于水。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
From: Xunzi, c. 3rd century BCE
Jūnzǐ yuē: xué bùkě yǐ yǐ. Qīng, qǔ zhī yú lán, ér qīng yú lán; bīng, shuǐ wèi zhī, ér hán yú shuǐ. [Pinyin]
The gentleman said: Learning must never cease. Blue is obtained from the indigo plant but is bluer than the plant itself; ice is made from water but is colder than water itself.

Pronunciation

  • Mandarin
    (Pinyin): qīng chū yú lán, ér qīng yú lán
    (Zhuyin): ㄑㄧㄥ ㄔㄨ ㄩˊ ㄌㄢˊ , ㄦˊ ㄑㄧㄥ ㄩˊ ㄌㄢˊ
  • Cantonese (Jyutping): cing1 ceot1 jyu1 laam4, ji4 cing1 jyu1 laam4

  • Mandarin
    • (Standard Chinese)+
      • Hanyu Pinyin: qīng chū yú lán, ér qīng yú lán
      • Zhuyin: ㄑㄧㄥ ㄔㄨ ㄩˊ ㄌㄢˊ , ㄦˊ ㄑㄧㄥ ㄩˊ ㄌㄢˊ
      • Tongyong Pinyin: cing chu yú lán, ér cing yú lán
      • Wade–Giles: chʻing1 chʻu1 yü2 lan2, êrh2 chʻing1 yü2 lan2
      • Yale: chīng chū yú lán-, ér chīng yú lán
      • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: ching chu yu lan, erl ching yu lan
      • Palladius: цин чу юй лань, эр цин юй лань (cin ču juj lanʹ, er cin juj lanʹ)
      • Sinological IPA (key): /t͡ɕʰiŋ⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂʰu⁵⁵ y³⁵ län³⁵ ˀɤɻ³⁵ t͡ɕʰiŋ⁵⁵ y³⁵ län³⁵/
  • Cantonese

Proverb

青出於藍,而青於藍

  1. the student has surpassed his or her teacher

Synonyms

Descendants

  • → Japanese: 青は藍より出でて藍より青し (ao wa ai yori idete ai yori aoshi) (calque)
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