諺語 · a single proverb
隨遇而安
Simplified: 随遇而安
What does 隨遇而安 (suí yù ér ān) mean?
隨遇而安 (suí yù ér ān) is a four-character classical idiom (chéngyǔ 成語). Word for word it reads "following encounter, find peace." In use it means: Find contentment wherever you land; be at ease with circumstances as they are. 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 Goat.
Literally: "following encounter, find peace."
The reading
The person who needs everything to be arranged exactly right before they can feel at home will feel at home nowhere. The person who can find something worth settling into wherever they land-they are already home, wherever they are.
What kind of proverb it is
Source Qing dynasty idiom; Liu E 劉鶚, 老殘遊記 (The Travels of Lao Can)
Sits beside
上善若水
shàng shàn ruò shuǐ
The finest virtue is like water, which benefits all things and flows to the low places without contending.
天下之至柔，馳騁天下之至堅
tiān xià zhī zhì róu chí chěng tiān xià zhī zhì jiān
The most yielding force in the world overcomes the most unyielding.
心如止水
xīn rú zhǐ shuǐ
A heart as still and clear as motionless water.
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 The Way of Water, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Goat, Year of the Rat, and Year of the Ox.
Questions
Is 隨遇而安 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 隨遇而安 (suí yù ér ān) is a four-character classical idiom (chéngyǔ 成語), and it comes from Qing dynasty idiom; Liu E 劉鶚, 老殘遊記 (The Travels of Lao Can). 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 隨遇而安?
In Mandarin it is suí yù ér ān. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 隨遇而安 aloud in Mandarin.