斬草除根

斬草除根

See also: 斩草除根

Chinese

		behead; chop	grass; straw; draft (of a document) grass; straw; draft (of a document); careless; rough; manuscript; hasty	to root out; to remove by the roots
trad. (斬草除根)		斬	草	除根
simp. (斩草除根)		斩	草	除根
Literally: “to take out the roots while removing weeds”.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): zhǎncǎochúgēn

  (Zhuyin): ㄓㄢˇ ㄘㄠˇ ㄔㄨˊ ㄍㄣ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): zaam² cou² ceoi⁴ gan¹

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Pinyin: zhǎncǎochúgēn [Phonetic: zháncǎochúgēn]
    • Zhuyin: ㄓㄢˇ ㄘㄠˇ ㄔㄨˊ ㄍㄣ
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: jaantsaochwugen
    • IPA ^(key): /ʈ͡ʂän²¹⁴⁻³⁵ t͡sʰɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹¹ ʈ͡ʂʰu³⁵ kən⁵⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
    • Jyutping: zaam² cou² ceoi⁴ gan¹
    • Yale: jáam chóu chèuih gān
    • Cantonese Pinyin: dzaam² tsou² tsoey⁴ gan¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: zam² cou² cêu⁴ gen¹
    • IPA ^(key): /t͡säːm³⁵ t͡sʰou̯³⁵ t͡ʃʰɵy̯²¹ kɐn⁵⁵/

Idiom

斬草除根

1. to root out; to nip in the bud; to eliminate completely

   若不斬草除根，必為喪身之本。 [Written Vernacular Chinese, trad.]
   若不斩草除根，必为丧身之本。 [Written Vernacular Chinese, simp.]

   From: Romance of the Three Kingdoms, circa 14^th century CE

   Ruò bù zhǎncǎochúgēn, bì wéi sàngshēn zhī běn. [Pinyin]

   If you don't nip this in the bud, it will eventually be the death of you.