諺語 · a single proverb
萬事如意
Simplified: 万事如意
What does 萬事如意 (wàn shì rú yì) mean?
萬事如意 (wàn shì rú yì) is a four-character classical idiom (chéngyǔ 成語). Word for word it reads "may ten thousand things go as you wish." In use it means: The broadest possible blessing: that everything in your life aligns with your hopes. You reach for it when you want that idea in one breath, and the Fire note it carries is why we hand it to those born in the Year of the Dragon.
Literally: "may ten thousand things go as you wish."
The reading
It is an impossible wish, and that is what makes it beautiful. Nobody has ten thousand things go right. But the wish is not a promise. It is a direction: may the gap between what you hope and what you get be as small as the universe can manage. The rest, you handle.
What kind of proverb it is
Source Common New Year and life blessing; folk culture
Sits beside
冬至陽生春又來
dōng zhì yáng shēng chūn yòu lái
At the darkest moment of winter, yang energy is reborn and spring begins its return.
夜長夢多
yè cháng mèng duō
Delay leads to complications.
太公釣魚，願者上鉤
tài gōng diào yú yuàn zhě shàng gōu
The best way to attract people is not through trickery but through genuine worth.
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 Timing & Fortune's Turning, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Dragon, Year of the Rat, and Year of the Ox.
Questions
Is 萬事如意 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 萬事如意 (wàn shì rú yì) is a four-character classical idiom (chéngyǔ 成語), and it comes from Common New Year and life blessing; folk culture. 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 萬事如意?
In Mandarin it is wàn shì rú yì. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 萬事如意 aloud in Mandarin.