懸崖勒馬

See also: 悬崖勒马

Chinese

		cliff; precipice	to rein in one's horse
trad. (懸崖勒馬)		懸崖	勒馬
simp. (悬崖勒马)		悬崖	勒马
Literally: “to rein in the horse at the edge of the precipice”.

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): xuányálèmǎ, xuányáilèmǎ

(Zhuyin): ㄒㄩㄢˊ ㄧㄚˊ ㄌㄜˋ ㄇㄚˇ, ㄒㄩㄢˊ ㄧㄞˊ ㄌㄜˋ ㄇㄚˇ
Cantonese (Jyutping): jyun⁴ ngaai⁴ lak⁶ maa⁵
Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): hiân-gâi-le̍k-má

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese, Mainland)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: xuányálèmǎ
  - Zhuyin: ㄒㄩㄢˊ ㄧㄚˊ ㄌㄜˋ ㄇㄚˇ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: syuányálèmǎ
  - Wade–Giles: hsüan²-ya²-lê⁴-ma³
  - Yale: sywán-yá-lè-mǎ
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shyuanyalehmaa
  - Palladius: сюаньялэма (sjuanʹjalɛma)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɕy̯ɛn³⁵ jä³⁵ lɤ⁵¹ mä²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
- (Standard Chinese, Taiwan)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: xuányáilèmǎ
  - Zhuyin: ㄒㄩㄢˊ ㄧㄞˊ ㄌㄜˋ ㄇㄚˇ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: syuányáilèmǎ
  - Wade–Giles: hsüan²-yai²-lê⁴-ma³
  - Yale: sywán-yái-lè-mǎ
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shyuanyailehmaa
  - Palladius: сюаньяйлэма (sjuanʹjajlɛma)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɕy̯ɛn³⁵ jaɪ̯³⁵ lɤ⁵¹ mä²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
  - Jyutping: jyun⁴ ngaai⁴ lak⁶ maa⁵
  - Yale: yùhn ngàaih lahk máh
  - Cantonese Pinyin: jyn⁴ ngaai⁴ lak⁹ maa⁵
  - Guangdong Romanization: yun⁴ ngai⁴ leg⁶ ma⁵
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /jyːn²¹ ŋaːi̯²¹ lɐk̚² maː¹³/
Southern Min
- (Hokkien: Xiamen)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: hiân-gâi-le̍k-má
  - Tâi-lô: hiân-gâi-li̍k-má
  - Phofsit Daibuun: hien'gailegmar
  - IPA (Xiamen): /hiɛn²⁴⁻²² ɡai²⁴⁻²² liɪk̚⁴⁻³² mã⁵³/

Idiom

懸崖勒馬

to desist from doing something before it is too late; to pull back before it is too late

Synonyms

臨崖勒馬／临崖勒马