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收之桑榆
shōuzhīsāngyú
1. to lose at sunrise but gain at sunset (idiom); to compensate later for one's earlier loss
2. what you lose on the swings you gain on the roundabouts

Character Breakdown

收
shōu
to collect, to gather, to harvest
HSK 4 6 丶
之
zhī
marks preceding phrase as modifier of following phrase; it, him her, them; to go to
HSK 4 3 丶
桑
sāng
mulberry tree; surname
HSK 6 10 丶
榆
yú
elm tree
13 丶

Compound Words (1)

失之东隅，收之桑榆
shīzhīdōngyú,shōuzhīsāngyú
to lose at sunrise but gain at sunset (idiom); to compensate later for one's earlier loss

Metadata

Category
Chinese