GotJack Posted May 12, 2015 at 08:01 AM Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 at 08:01 AM Hi there guys, A Chinese friend has asked if I know an english equivalent saying of 知足者水存 贪心着水尽. TBH my Chinese level is not good enough, so I wonder if you guys know this chengyu and can think of of an english version? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
li3wei1 Posted May 12, 2015 at 08:46 AM Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 at 08:46 AM glass half empty/half full? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cachenow Posted May 12, 2015 at 09:14 AM Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 at 09:14 AM It means: The content preserve water, while the greedy lost water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skylee Posted May 12, 2015 at 01:50 PM Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 at 01:50 PM 贪心着水尽着(X) 者(O)As to the meaning, take a look - http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pythagorean_cup PS - OP, so can you think of an equivalent English saying? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GotJack Posted May 12, 2015 at 04:53 PM Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 at 04:53 PM Nooo I can't. In the end I told her, The person that sees the glass half full will always have more than the one who sees it half empty. Although thats hardly a saying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rezaf Posted May 12, 2015 at 05:30 PM Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 at 05:30 PM That is completely irrelevant. Read Skylee's Wikipedia link. It's about greed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GotJack Posted May 12, 2015 at 05:34 PM Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 at 05:34 PM Somewhat of a blunt reply... .. Anyhow I should add that she mentioned in English that her translation was "The man who is satisfied will always have resources, and that man who is unsatisfied will not" so from that, and someone mentioning glass half full, I came up with that. Also note I stressed previously my Chinese ain't top notch and I was struggling. Rezaf feel free to offer an English Idiom equivalent, which I note you have failed to do (making your reply largely irrelevant considering my op request) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rezaf Posted May 12, 2015 at 05:44 PM Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 at 05:44 PM I'm not a native English speaker so I can't help you. I just wanted to point out your mistake. Wikipedia has a clear explanation. It's about losing what you have because of greed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiana Posted May 13, 2015 at 05:09 AM Report Share Posted May 13, 2015 at 05:09 AM Can we translate it simply as "Less is more" ? (Or perhaps (in 天啊's style ): "More than enough is not enough" ?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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