水能载舟，亦能覆舟
shuǐ​néng​zài​zhōu​yì​néng​fù​zhōu

water can carry a boat or overturn it

  • created reference approved 水能载舟，亦能覆舟/水能載舟，亦能覆舟 → 水能载舟/水能載舟 (see) — "Initial import from upstream dictionary"

    水能载舟，亦能覆舟 / 水能載舟，亦能覆舟 shuǐ​néng​zài​zhōu​yì​néng​fù​zhōu

    水能载舟 / 水能載舟 shuǐ​néng​zài​zhōu

    see

    Changed: source (simp), source (trad), source pinyin, target (simp), target (trad), target pinyin, type

    created reference

  • created sense approved 水能载舟，亦能覆舟/水能載舟，亦能覆舟 · shuǐ​néng​zài​zhōu​yì​néng​fù​zhōu · water can carry a boat or overturn it — "Initial import from upstream dictionary"

    水能载舟，亦能覆舟 / 水能載舟，亦能覆舟

    shuǐ​néng​zài​zhōu​yì​néng​fù​zhōu

    water can carry a boat or overturn it

    Proverb meaning that the people can support a ruler or overthrow him; also used more broadly to mean that anything can be a double-edged sword, providing benefit if used correctly but causing harm if used poorly managed.

    水 (literal) → 水 · shuǐ · water 能 (literal) → 能 · néng · can 载 (literal) → 载/載 · zài · to carry 舟 (literal) → 舟 · zhōu · boat ， (non_chinese) 亦 (literal) → 亦 · yì · also 能 (literal) → 能 · néng · can 覆 (literal) → 复/覆 · fù · to overturn 舟 (literal) → 舟 · zhōu · boat

    Changed: simplified, traditional, gloss, definition, pinyin, variant pinyin, variants, separable parts, decomposition

    created sense