飲水思源

Chinese

		to drink water	to think; to consider	root; source; origin
trad. (飲水思源)		飲水	思	源
simp. (饮水思源)		饮水	思	源
Literally: “drink water, consider the source”.

Etymology

From "Tune in the Key of Zhǐ" (徵調曲) written by Yu Xin (庾信) during the Northern and Southern dynasties:

落其實者思其樹；飲其流者懷其源。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]

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落其实者思其树；饮其流者怀其源。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

Luò qí shí zhě sī qí shù; yǐn qí liú zhě huái qí yuán. [Pinyin]

When you eat the fruit, remember the trees that produced them; when you drink water, think of its source.

i.e. remember where and how the fruit/water came from. Don’t just be thankful for the fruit/water. The idiom makes use of the latter half: be thankful for all the elements and processes (both past and present) that allowed you to enjoy that humble cup of water.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): yǐnshuǐsīyuán

  (Zhuyin): ㄧㄣˇ ㄕㄨㄟˇ ㄙ ㄩㄢˊ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): jam² seoi² si¹ jyun⁴
• Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): ím-súi-su-goân / ím-chúi-su-goân

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: yǐnshuǐsīyuán [Phonetic: yínshuǐsīyuán]
    • Zhuyin: ㄧㄣˇ ㄕㄨㄟˇ ㄙ ㄩㄢˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: yǐnshuěisihyuán
    • Wade–Giles: yin³-shui³-ssŭ¹-yüan²
    • Yale: yǐn-shwěi-sz̄-ywán
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: yiinshoeisyyuan
    • Palladius: иньшуйсыюань (inʹšujsyjuanʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /in²¹⁴⁻³⁵ ʂu̯eɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ sz̩⁵⁵ ɥɛn³⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: jam² seoi² si¹ jyun⁴
    • Yale: yám séui sī yùhn
    • Cantonese Pinyin: jam² soey² si¹ jyn⁴
    • Guangdong Romanization: yem² sêu² xi¹ yun⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /jɐm³⁵ sɵy̯³⁵ siː⁵⁵ jyːn²¹/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: ím-súi-su-goân
    • Tâi-lô: ím-suí-su-guân
    • Phofsit Daibuun: ymsuysu'goaan
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /im⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ sui⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ su⁴⁴⁻³³ ɡuan²³/
    • IPA (Taipei): /im⁵³⁻⁴⁴ sui⁵³⁻⁴⁴ su⁴⁴⁻³³ ɡuan²⁴/
    • IPA (Xiamen): /im⁵³⁻⁴⁴ sui⁵³⁻⁴⁴ su⁴⁴⁻²² ɡuan²⁴/
  • (Hokkien: variant in Taiwan)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: ím-chúi-su-goân
    • Tâi-lô: ím-tsuí-su-guân
    • Phofsit Daibuun: ymzuysu'goaan
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /im⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ t͡sui⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ su⁴⁴⁻³³ ɡuan²³/
    • IPA (Taipei): /im⁵³⁻⁴⁴ t͡sui⁵³⁻⁴⁴ su⁴⁴⁻³³ ɡuan²⁴/

Idiom

飲水思源

1. to remember where one's happiness comes from; to not forget one's roots or heritage

Synonyms

Variety	Location	Words edit
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		飲水思源, 飲流懷源, 飲水知源
Northeastern Mandarin	Taiwan	飲水思源
	Singapore	飲水思源
Cantonese	Hong Kong	飲水思源
Southern Min	Xiamen	食果子拜樹頭，食米飯敬鋤頭, 食果子拜樹頭, 食水果拜樹頭
	Quanzhou	食果子拜樹頭，食米飯敬鋤頭, 食果子拜樹頭
	Zhangzhou	食果子拜樹頭，食米飯敬鋤頭, 食果子拜樹頭
	Taipei	食果子拜樹頭，食米飯拜田頭
	Tainan	食果子拜樹頭

Dialectal synonyms of 飲水思源 (“to remember where one's happiness comes from; to not forget one's roots or heritage”) [map]

Descendants

• → Vietnamese: uống nước nhớ nguồn (calque)