諺語 · a single proverb
夜長夢多
Simplified: 夜长梦多
What does 夜長夢多 (yè cháng mèng duō) mean?
夜長夢多 (yè cháng mèng duō) is a four-character classical idiom (chéngyǔ 成語). Word for word it reads "night long, dreams many." In use it means: Delay leads to complications; the longer you wait, the more problems arise. 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 Rat.
Literally: "night long, dreams many."
The reading
The night extended for tactical reasons accumulates its own complications: dreams that were not planned, arrivals that change the arrangement, questions that could not have been anticipated when the decision to wait was made. Procrastination is not a pause but a period in which the world continues to evolve, usually not in the direction of what was being protected.
What kind of proverb it is
Source Traditional Chinese idiom (common in strategic and folk contexts)
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 Timing & Fortune's Turning, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Rat, Year of the Ox, and Year of the Tiger.
Questions
Is 夜長夢多 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 夜長夢多 (yè cháng mèng duō) is a four-character classical idiom (chéngyǔ 成語), and it comes from Traditional Chinese idiom (common in strategic and folk contexts). 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 夜長夢多?
In Mandarin it is yè cháng mèng duō. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 夜長夢多 aloud in Mandarin.