"水到渠成" meaning in Chinese

See 水到渠成 in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Phrase

IPA: /ʂu̯eɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ tɑʊ̯⁵¹ t͡ɕʰy³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʰɤŋ³⁵/ [Mandarin, Standard-Chinese, Sinological-IPA], /sɵy̯³⁵ tou̯³³ kʰɵy̯²¹ sɪŋ²¹/ [Cantonese, Guangzhou, Sinological-IPA]
Head templates: {{head|zh|idiom}} 水到渠成
  1. to achieve something without effort; effortless; something which comes naturally Tags: idiomatic
{
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "zh",
        "2": "idiom"
      },
      "expansion": "水到渠成",
      "name": "head"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "Chinese",
  "lang_code": "zh",
  "literal_meaning": "where the water flows, a channel forms",
  "pos": "phrase",
  "senses": [
    {
      "attestations": [
        {
          "date": "from 1080",
          "references": []
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Cantonese chengyu",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Chinese chengyu",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Chinese entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Chinese links with redundant alt parameters",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Chinese links with redundant wikilinks",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Mandarin chengyu",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_english_offsets": [
            [
              115,
              164
            ]
          ],
          "bold_roman_offsets": [
            [
              61,
              75
            ]
          ],
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              19,
              23
            ]
          ],
          "english": "All in all, nothing in this world is that hard to do—just charge ahead and do it! A day will inevitably come when “the ditch will be dug and the waters flow through.”",
          "raw_tags": [
            "Written Vernacular Chinese"
          ],
          "ref": " 1596, 袁宏道,《致李子髯》, translated by Jonathan Chaves, 1978.",
          "roman": "Dàdǐ shìshàng wú nánwèi de shì, zhǐ húluàn zuòjiāngqù, zìyǒu shuǐdàoqúchéng rìzǐ.",
          "tags": [
            "Pinyin",
            "Traditional-Chinese"
          ],
          "text": "大抵世上無難為的事,只胡亂做將去,自有水到渠成日子。",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "bold_english_offsets": [
            [
              115,
              164
            ]
          ],
          "bold_roman_offsets": [
            [
              61,
              75
            ]
          ],
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              19,
              23
            ]
          ],
          "english": "All in all, nothing in this world is that hard to do—just charge ahead and do it! A day will inevitably come when “the ditch will be dug and the waters flow through.”",
          "raw_tags": [
            "Written Vernacular Chinese"
          ],
          "ref": " 1596, 袁宏道,《致李子髯》, translated by Jonathan Chaves, 1978.",
          "roman": "Dàdǐ shìshàng wú nánwèi de shì, zhǐ húluàn zuòjiāngqù, zìyǒu shuǐdàoqúchéng rìzǐ.",
          "tags": [
            "Pinyin",
            "Simplified-Chinese"
          ],
          "text": "大抵世上无难为的事,只胡乱做将去,自有水到渠成日子。",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "to achieve something without effort; effortless; something which comes naturally"
      ],
      "id": "en-水到渠成-zh-phrase-NxOk-K-i",
      "links": [
        [
          "achieve",
          "achieve"
        ],
        [
          "effort",
          "effort"
        ],
        [
          "effortless",
          "effortless"
        ],
        [
          "naturally",
          "naturally"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Pinyin"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "shuǐdàoqúchéng"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Bopomofo"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "ㄕㄨㄟˇ ㄉㄠˋ ㄑㄩˊ ㄔㄥˊ"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Cantonese",
        "Jyutping"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "seoi² dou³ keoi⁴ sing⁴"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Standard-Chinese",
        "Pinyin"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "shuǐdàoqúchéng"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Standard-Chinese",
        "Bopomofo"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "ㄕㄨㄟˇ ㄉㄠˋ ㄑㄩˊ ㄔㄥˊ"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Standard-Chinese",
        "Tongyong-Pinyin"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "shuěidàocyúchéng"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Standard-Chinese",
        "Wade-Giles"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "shui³-tao⁴-chʻü²-chʻêng²"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Standard-Chinese",
        "Yale"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "shwěi-dàu-chyú-chéng"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Standard-Chinese",
        "Gwoyeu-Romatsyh"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "shoeidawchyucherng"
    },
    {
      "roman": "šujdaocjujčɛn",
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Standard-Chinese",
        "Palladius"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "шуйдаоцюйчэн"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ʂu̯eɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ tɑʊ̯⁵¹ t͡ɕʰy³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʰɤŋ³⁵/",
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Standard-Chinese",
        "Sinological-IPA"
      ]
    },
    {
      "raw_tags": [
        "Standard-Cantonese",
        "Hong Kong"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Cantonese",
        "Guangzhou",
        "Jyutping"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "seoi² dou³ keoi⁴ sing⁴"
    },
    {
      "raw_tags": [
        "Standard-Cantonese",
        "Hong Kong"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Cantonese",
        "Guangzhou",
        "Yale"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "séui dou kèuih sìhng"
    },
    {
      "raw_tags": [
        "Standard-Cantonese",
        "Hong Kong"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Cantonese",
        "Guangzhou",
        "Cantonese",
        "Pinyin"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "soey² dou³ koey⁴ sing⁴"
    },
    {
      "raw_tags": [
        "Standard-Cantonese",
        "Hong Kong"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Cantonese",
        "Guangzhou",
        "Guangdong-Romanization"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "sêu² dou³ kêu⁴ xing⁴"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/sɵy̯³⁵ tou̯³³ kʰɵy̯²¹ sɪŋ²¹/",
      "raw_tags": [
        "Standard-Cantonese",
        "Hong Kong"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Cantonese",
        "Guangzhou",
        "Sinological-IPA"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "水到渠成"
}
{
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "zh",
        "2": "idiom"
      },
      "expansion": "水到渠成",
      "name": "head"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "Chinese",
  "lang_code": "zh",
  "literal_meaning": "where the water flows, a channel forms",
  "pos": "phrase",
  "senses": [
    {
      "attestations": [
        {
          "date": "from 1080",
          "references": []
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        "Cantonese chengyu",
        "Cantonese idioms",
        "Cantonese lemmas",
        "Chinese chengyu",
        "Chinese entries with incorrect language header",
        "Chinese idioms",
        "Chinese lemmas",
        "Chinese links with redundant alt parameters",
        "Chinese links with redundant wikilinks",
        "Chinese terms spelled with 到",
        "Chinese terms spelled with 成",
        "Chinese terms spelled with 水",
        "Chinese terms spelled with 渠",
        "Chinese terms with IPA pronunciation",
        "Mandarin chengyu",
        "Mandarin idioms",
        "Mandarin lemmas",
        "Mandarin terms with quotations",
        "Pages with 1 entry",
        "Pages with entries"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_english_offsets": [
            [
              115,
              164
            ]
          ],
          "bold_roman_offsets": [
            [
              61,
              75
            ]
          ],
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              19,
              23
            ]
          ],
          "english": "All in all, nothing in this world is that hard to do—just charge ahead and do it! A day will inevitably come when “the ditch will be dug and the waters flow through.”",
          "raw_tags": [
            "Written Vernacular Chinese"
          ],
          "ref": " 1596, 袁宏道,《致李子髯》, translated by Jonathan Chaves, 1978.",
          "roman": "Dàdǐ shìshàng wú nánwèi de shì, zhǐ húluàn zuòjiāngqù, zìyǒu shuǐdàoqúchéng rìzǐ.",
          "tags": [
            "Pinyin",
            "Traditional-Chinese"
          ],
          "text": "大抵世上無難為的事,只胡亂做將去,自有水到渠成日子。",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "bold_english_offsets": [
            [
              115,
              164
            ]
          ],
          "bold_roman_offsets": [
            [
              61,
              75
            ]
          ],
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              19,
              23
            ]
          ],
          "english": "All in all, nothing in this world is that hard to do—just charge ahead and do it! A day will inevitably come when “the ditch will be dug and the waters flow through.”",
          "raw_tags": [
            "Written Vernacular Chinese"
          ],
          "ref": " 1596, 袁宏道,《致李子髯》, translated by Jonathan Chaves, 1978.",
          "roman": "Dàdǐ shìshàng wú nánwèi de shì, zhǐ húluàn zuòjiāngqù, zìyǒu shuǐdàoqúchéng rìzǐ.",
          "tags": [
            "Pinyin",
            "Simplified-Chinese"
          ],
          "text": "大抵世上无难为的事,只胡乱做将去,自有水到渠成日子。",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "to achieve something without effort; effortless; something which comes naturally"
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "achieve",
          "achieve"
        ],
        [
          "effort",
          "effort"
        ],
        [
          "effortless",
          "effortless"
        ],
        [
          "naturally",
          "naturally"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Pinyin"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "shuǐdàoqúchéng"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Bopomofo"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "ㄕㄨㄟˇ ㄉㄠˋ ㄑㄩˊ ㄔㄥˊ"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Cantonese",
        "Jyutping"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "seoi² dou³ keoi⁴ sing⁴"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Standard-Chinese",
        "Pinyin"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "shuǐdàoqúchéng"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Standard-Chinese",
        "Bopomofo"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "ㄕㄨㄟˇ ㄉㄠˋ ㄑㄩˊ ㄔㄥˊ"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Standard-Chinese",
        "Tongyong-Pinyin"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "shuěidàocyúchéng"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Standard-Chinese",
        "Wade-Giles"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "shui³-tao⁴-chʻü²-chʻêng²"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Standard-Chinese",
        "Yale"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "shwěi-dàu-chyú-chéng"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Standard-Chinese",
        "Gwoyeu-Romatsyh"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "shoeidawchyucherng"
    },
    {
      "roman": "šujdaocjujčɛn",
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Standard-Chinese",
        "Palladius"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "шуйдаоцюйчэн"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ʂu̯eɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ tɑʊ̯⁵¹ t͡ɕʰy³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʰɤŋ³⁵/",
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Standard-Chinese",
        "Sinological-IPA"
      ]
    },
    {
      "raw_tags": [
        "Standard-Cantonese",
        "Hong Kong"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Cantonese",
        "Guangzhou",
        "Jyutping"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "seoi² dou³ keoi⁴ sing⁴"
    },
    {
      "raw_tags": [
        "Standard-Cantonese",
        "Hong Kong"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Cantonese",
        "Guangzhou",
        "Yale"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "séui dou kèuih sìhng"
    },
    {
      "raw_tags": [
        "Standard-Cantonese",
        "Hong Kong"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Cantonese",
        "Guangzhou",
        "Cantonese",
        "Pinyin"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "soey² dou³ koey⁴ sing⁴"
    },
    {
      "raw_tags": [
        "Standard-Cantonese",
        "Hong Kong"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Cantonese",
        "Guangzhou",
        "Guangdong-Romanization"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "sêu² dou³ kêu⁴ xing⁴"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/sɵy̯³⁵ tou̯³³ kʰɵy̯²¹ sɪŋ²¹/",
      "raw_tags": [
        "Standard-Cantonese",
        "Hong Kong"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Cantonese",
        "Guangzhou",
        "Sinological-IPA"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "水到渠成"
}

Download raw JSONL data for 水到渠成 meaning in Chinese (4.3kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable Chinese dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-08-15 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2025-08-02 using wiktextract (fb173d2 and 3c020d2). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.