弱不禁風

See also: 弱不禁风

Chinese

		weak; feeble; young weak; feeble; young; inferior	not; no	to prohibit; to forbid; endure	wind; news; style wind; news; style; custom; manner
trad. (弱不禁風)		弱	不	禁	風
simp. (弱不禁风)		弱	不	禁	风

Etymology

First attested in a Southern Song poem by Lu You

白菡萏香初過雨，紅蜻蜓弱不禁風。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]

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白菡萏香初过雨，红蜻蜓弱不禁风。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: Shortly after midnight on 21st July 1196, Lu You (陸遊),《六月二十四日夜分夢范至能、李知㡬、尤延之同集江亭，諸公請予賦詩記江湖之樂，詩成而覺，忘數字而已》

Bái hàndàn xiāng chū guò yǔ, hóng qīngtíng ruò bù jīn fēng. [Pinyin]

White lotus flowers being fragrant right after rain; red dragonflies fail to stand the wind.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): ruòbùjīnfēng

  (Zhuyin): ㄖㄨㄛˋ ㄅㄨˋ ㄐㄧㄣ ㄈㄥ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): joek⁶ bat¹ kam¹ fung¹

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: ruòbùjīnfēng
    • Zhuyin: ㄖㄨㄛˋ ㄅㄨˋ ㄐㄧㄣ ㄈㄥ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: ruòbùjinfong
    • Wade–Giles: jo⁴-pu⁴-chin¹-fêng¹
    • Yale: rwò-bù-jīn-fēng
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: ruohbujinfeng
    • Palladius: жобуцзиньфэн (žobuczinʹfɛn)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʐu̯ɔ⁵¹⁻⁵³ pu⁵¹ t͡ɕin⁵⁵ fɤŋ⁵⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: joek⁶ bat¹ kam¹ fung¹
    • Yale: yeuhk bāt kām fūng
    • Cantonese Pinyin: joek⁹ bat⁷ kam¹ fung¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: yêg⁶ bed¹ kem¹ fung¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /jœːk̚² pɐt̚⁵ kʰɐm⁵⁵ fʊŋ⁵⁵/

Idiom

弱不禁風

1. having so delicate a constitution as to be unable to stand any breeze; being too frail to withstand even a gust of wind (of a person, e.g. a woman or a patient, of a structure, etc.)