輾轉反側

Chinese

		to toss and turn; to pass through many hands or places	to turn over in bed; to be unable to sleep
trad. (輾轉反側)		輾轉	反側
simp. (辗转反侧)		辗转	反侧

Etymology

From the Classic of Poetry, poem 1 (《詩經·周南·關雎》):

求之不得，寤寐思服。
悠哉悠哉，輾轉反側。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, trad.]

---

求之不得，寤寐思服。
悠哉悠哉，辗转反侧。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: The Classic of Poetry, c. 11^th – 7^th centuries BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

Qiú zhī bù dé, wùmèi sīfú.
Yōuzāi yōuzāi, zhǎnzhuǎn fǎncè. [Pinyin]

He sought her and found her not, and waking and sleeping he thought about her.
Long he thought; oh! long and anxiously; on his side, on his back, he turned, and back again.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): zhǎnzhuǎnfǎncè

  (Zhuyin): ㄓㄢˇ ㄓㄨㄢˇ ㄈㄢˇ ㄘㄜˋ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): zin² zyun² faan² zak¹

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: zhǎnzhuǎnfǎncè [Phonetic: zhánzhuánfǎncè]
    • Zhuyin: ㄓㄢˇ ㄓㄨㄢˇ ㄈㄢˇ ㄘㄜˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: jhǎnjhuǎnfǎncè
    • Wade–Giles: chan³-chuan³-fan³-tsʻê⁴
    • Yale: jǎn-jwǎn-fǎn-tsè
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: jaanjoanfaantseh
    • Palladius: чжаньчжуаньфаньцэ (čžanʹčžuanʹfanʹcɛ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʈ͡ʂän²¹⁴⁻³⁵ ʈ͡ʂu̯än²¹⁴⁻³⁵ fän²¹⁴⁻²¹ t͡sʰɤ⁵¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: zin² zyun² faan² zak¹
    • Yale: jín jyún fáan jāk
    • Cantonese Pinyin: dzin² dzyn² faan² dzak⁷
    • Guangdong Romanization: jin² jun² fan² zeg¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡siːn³⁵ t͡syːn³⁵ faːn³⁵ t͡sɐk̚⁵/

Idiom

輾轉反側

1. to toss and turn in bed as one has something on one's mind