昊天罔極

Chinese

		heaven; the sky; firmament heaven; the sky; firmament; clear sky	immeasurable, boundless
trad. (昊天罔極)		昊天	罔極
simp. (昊天罔极)		昊天	罔极

Etymology

From the Classic of Poetry.

父兮生我，母兮鞠我，拊我畜我，長我育我，顧我復我，出入腹我。欲報之德，昊天罔極。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, trad.]

父兮生我，母兮鞠我，拊我畜我，长我育我，顾我复我，出入腹我。欲报之德，昊天罔极。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: The Classic of Poetry, c. 11^th – 7^th centuries BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

Fù xī shēng wǒ, mǔ xī jū wǒ, fǔ wǒ xù wǒ, zhǎng wǒ yù wǒ, gù wǒ fù wǒ, chū rù fù wǒ. Yù bào zhī dé, hàotiānwǎngjí. [Pinyin]

O my father, who begat me! O my mother, who nourished me! Ye indulged me, ye fed me, ye held me up, ye supported me, ye looked after me, ye never left me, out and in ye bore me in your arms. If I would return your kindness, it is like great Heaven, illimitable.

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): hàotiānwǎngjí
(Zhuyin): ㄏㄠˋ ㄊㄧㄢㄨㄤˇ ㄐㄧˊ
Cantonese (Jyutping): hou⁶ tin¹ mong⁵ gik⁶

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: hàotiānwǎngjí
  - Zhuyin: ㄏㄠˋ ㄊㄧㄢㄨㄤˇ ㄐㄧˊ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: hàotianwǎngjí
  - Wade–Giles: hao⁴-tʻien¹-wang³-chi²
  - Yale: hàu-tyān-wǎng-jí
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: hawtianwoangjyi
  - Palladius: хаотяньванцзи (xaotjanʹvanczi)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /xɑʊ̯⁵¹ tʰjɛn⁵⁵ wɑŋ²¹⁴⁻²¹¹ t͡ɕi³⁵/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
  - Jyutping: hou⁶ tin¹ mong⁵ gik⁶
  - Yale: houh tīn móhng gihk
  - Cantonese Pinyin: hou⁶ tin¹ mong⁵ gik⁹
  - Guangdong Romanization: hou⁶ tin¹ mong⁵ gig⁶
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /hou̯²² tʰiːn⁵⁵ mɔːŋ¹³ kɪk̚²/

Idiom

昊天罔極

the immeasurable kindness of parents and elders, as boundless as the sky