唐捐

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Chinese

		in vain, to no avail	to relinquish, to abandon
trad. (唐捐)		唐	捐
simp. ^#(唐捐)		唐	捐

Etymology

Able to be understood literally. First attested in Buddhist sutras:

若有眾生，恭敬禮拜觀世音菩薩，福不唐捐。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]

若有众生，恭敬礼拜观世音菩萨，福不唐捐。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: c. 406,《妙法蓮華經·觀世音菩薩普門品》, translated by Kumārajīva (鳩摩羅什 (Jiūmóluóshí))

Ruò yǒu zhòngshēng, gōngjìng lǐbài guānshìyīnpúsà, fú bù tángjuān.

If the living beings reverently worship bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, their efforts will not be wasted.

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): tángjuān

(Zhuyin): ㄊㄤˊ ㄐㄩㄢ
Cantonese (Jyutping): tong⁴ gyun¹

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: tángjuān
  - Zhuyin: ㄊㄤˊ ㄐㄩㄢ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: tángjyuan
  - Wade–Giles: tʻang²-chüan¹
  - Yale: táng-jywān
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: tarngjiuan
  - Palladius: танцзюань (tanczjuanʹ)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /tʰɑŋ³⁵ t͡ɕy̯ɛn⁵⁵/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
  - Jyutping: tong⁴ gyun¹
  - Yale: tòhng gyūn
  - Cantonese Pinyin: tong⁴ gyn¹
  - Guangdong Romanization: tong⁴ gün¹
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /tʰɔːŋ²¹ kyːn⁵⁵/

Verb

唐捐

(of one's effort, etc) to be wasted
- 昔功恐唐捐，異味今得饁。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
  昔功恐唐捐，异味今得馌。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
  From: Wang Anshi (王安石, c.1021-1086),《再用前韻寄蔡天啟》
  Xī gōng kǒng tángjuān, yìwèi jīn dé yè.
  In the past, I was fearing my endeavours and deeds would turn out to have been in vain, but now I've got the delicacy I wanted.
- 佛典裏有一句話：“福不唐捐。”唐捐就是白白的丟了。我們也應該說：“功不唐捐。” [Written Vernacular Chinese, trad.]
  佛典里有一句话：“福不唐捐。”唐捐就是白白的丢了。我们也应该说：“功不唐捐。” [Written Vernacular Chinese, simp.]
  From: 1933, 胡適 (Hu Shih), 《〈獨立評論〉的一周年》
  Fódiǎn lǐ yǒu yījù huà: “Fú bù tángjuān.” Tángjuān jiùshì báibáide diūle. Wǒmen yě yìnggāi shuō: “Gōng bù tángjuān.”
  In Buddhist scriptures, there is a saying: fortune should not be lost without reason. We should also say: no effort will ever have been in vain.

Further reading

Ding, Fubao (丁福保) (1922), “唐捐” in 佛學大辭典 .

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