飲水思源

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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.]
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.
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

Idiom

飲水思源

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

Synonyms

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

Descendants

  • → Vietnamese: uống nước nhớ nguồn (calque)
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