諺語 · a single proverb
如魚得水
Simplified: 如鱼得水
What does 如魚得水 (rú yú dé shuǐ) mean?
如魚得水 (rú yú dé shuǐ) is a four-character classical idiom (chéngyǔ 成語). Word for word it reads "like fish getting water." In use it means: Like a fish in water; feeling completely at home or perfectly suited to a situation. You reach for it when you want that idea in one breath, and the Water note it carries is why we hand it to those born in the Year of the Pig.
Literally: "like fish getting water."
The reading
The fish does not think about the water and the water does not think about the fish; they have achieved the highest kind of fit, the kind that erases the question of fitting. To find the environment where your nature is not a problem but a form is one of the great good fortunes of a life.
What kind of proverb it is
Source San Guo Zhi 三國志·蜀志·諸葛亮傳 (Zhūgě Liàng biography)
Sits beside
Keep reading
Return to the Proverb Pond to draw another of the eighty-seven, or hear one read aloud. Read the rest of its chapter in Home, Family & Roots, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Pig, Year of the Rat, and Year of the Ox.
Questions
Is 如魚得水 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 如魚得水 (rú yú dé shuǐ) is a four-character classical idiom (chéngyǔ 成語), and it comes from San Guo Zhi 三國志·蜀志·諸葛亮傳 (Zhūgě Liàng biography). It is living Chinese heritage, given here with per-character pinyin and its source so you can trust the line, not a phrase invented in English.
How do you pronounce 如魚得水?
In Mandarin it is rú yú dé shuǐ. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 如魚得水 aloud in Mandarin.