mountain; hill | middle; centre; within middle; centre; within; among; in; while (doing something); during; China; Chinese; hit (the mark) |
not have | tiger; tractor | monkey; die | to call; to praise; to weigh to call; to praise; to weigh; to estimate; to consider; to address; to name; to say; commend; steelyard; balanced; to fit; well-off; suitable |
king; the red joker, one of the two jokers that has a more reddish or colorful appearance | |||
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trad. (山中無老虎,猴子稱大王) | 山 | 中 | 無 | 老虎 | , | 猴子 | 稱 | 大王 | |
simp. (山中无老虎,猴子称大王) | 山 | 中 | 无 | 老虎 | , | 猴子 | 称 | 大王 | |
alternative forms | 山上無老虎,猴子稱大王/山上无老虎,猴子称大王 山中無老虎,猴子也稱王/山中无老虎,猴子也称王 | ||||||||
Literally: “the monkeys reign when there are no tigers in the mountain”. |
山中無老虎,猴子稱大王