泥菩萨过江，自身难保
ní​pú​sà​guò​jiāng​zì​shēn​nán​bǎo

unable to save oneself

  • created sense approved 泥菩萨过江，自身难保/泥菩薩過江，自身難保 · ní​pú​sà​guò​jiāng​zì​shēn​nán​bǎo · unable to save oneself — "Initial import from upstream dictionary"

    泥菩萨过江，自身难保 / 泥菩薩過江，自身難保

    ní​pú​sà​guò​jiāng​zì​shēn​nán​bǎo

    unable to save oneself

    literally meaning "like a clay Bodhisattva fording a river, one cannot guarantee even one's own safety"; used to describe a situation where someone is in such trouble that they cannot help others

    泥菩萨 (literal) → 泥菩萨/泥菩薩 · ní​pú​sà · clay idol 过 (literal) → 过/過 · guò · to cross 江 (literal) → 江 · jiāng · river ， (non_chinese) 自身难保 (literal) → 自身难保/自身難保 · zì​shēn​nán​bǎo · unable even to fend for oneself

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

    created sense