失之东隅，收之桑榆

Traditional: 失之東隅，收之桑榆

shī zhī dōng yú , shōu zhī sāng yú

Dictionary entry

to lose at sunrise but gain at sunset (idiom)

What does 失之东隅，收之桑榆 mean?

失之东隅，收之桑榆 (shī zhī dōng yú , shōu zhī sāng yú) has the following dictionary meaning.

1to lose at sunrise but gain at sunset (idiom)

2to compensate later for one's earlier loss

3what you lose on the swings you gain on the roundabouts

Character breakdown

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失shīto lose · to miss 之zhī(possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的[de5]) · him 东Dōngsurname Dong 隅yúcorner 收shōuto receive · to accept 桑Sāngsurname Sang 榆yúelm

Reviewed examples

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How to pronounce 失之东隅，收之桑榆

失之东隅，收之桑榆

shī zhī dōng yú , shōu zhī sāng yú

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Base dictionary data: CC-CEDICT · CC BY-SA 4.0.