哀莫大於心死
See also: 哀莫大于心死
Chinese
sorrow; grief; pity sorrow; grief; pity; to grieve for; to pity; to lament | do not; there is none who | to be greater than; to be bigger than | heart; mind | to die; impassable; uncrossable to die; impassable; uncrossable; inflexible; rigid | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
trad. (哀莫大於心死) | 哀 | 莫 | 大於 | 心 | 死 | |
simp. (哀莫大于心死) | 哀 | 莫 | 大于 | 心 | 死 | |
Literally: “Nothing is more lamentable than a dead heart.” |
Etymology
From Zhuangzi, chapter 21 (Tian Zifang):
- 夫哀莫大於心死,而人死亦次之。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
- From: Zhuangzi, circa 3rd – 2nd centuries BCE
- Fú āi mò dàyú xīn sǐ, ér rén sǐ yì cì zhī. [Pinyin]
- There is no sorrow to be compared with the death of the mind. The death of the body is of but secondary importance.
夫哀莫大于心死,而人死亦次之。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
Pronunciation
Proverb
哀莫大於心死
- Despair is the greatest sorrow; Nothing gives greater cause for sorrow than despair; There is no grief so great as despair; There is no poverty like the poverty of spirit.