兄弟如手足，妻子如衣服

Chinese

	brother; brethren; brothers and sisters brother; brethren; brothers and sisters; siblings	as (if); such as	hands and feet		wife; wife and child	as (if); such as	clothing; clothes; laundry clothing; clothes; laundry; upper outer garment; jacket; coat
trad. (兄弟如手足，妻子如衣服)	兄弟	如	手足	，	妻子	如	衣服
simp. ^#(兄弟如手足，妻子如衣服)	兄弟	如	手足	，	妻子	如	衣服
alternative forms	兄弟如手足，妻子似衣服兄弟如手足，女人如衣服兄弟如手足，女人似衣服兄弟如手足，老婆如衣服兄弟如手足，老婆似衣服

Etymology

Popularised by Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Chapter 15, where this ancient saying was quoted by Liu Bei. The concept of brethren being limb-like was preexisting; compare 兄弟手足.

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): xiōngdì rú shǒuzú, qīzǐ rú yīfu

(Zhuyin): ㄒㄩㄥㄉㄧˋ ㄖㄨˊ ㄕㄡˇ ㄗㄨˊ , ㄑㄧㄗˇ ㄖㄨˊ ㄧ ˙ㄈㄨ
Cantonese (Jyutping): hing¹ dai⁶ jyu⁴ sau² zuk¹, cai¹ zi² jyu⁴ ji¹ fuk⁶

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: xiōngdì rú shǒuzú, qīzǐ rú yīfu
  - Zhuyin: ㄒㄩㄥㄉㄧˋ ㄖㄨˊ ㄕㄡˇ ㄗㄨˊ , ㄑㄧㄗˇ ㄖㄨˊ ㄧ ˙ㄈㄨ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: syongdì rú shǒuzú, cizǐh rú yifů
  - Wade–Giles: hsiung¹-ti⁴ ju² shou³-tsu², chʻi¹-tzŭ³ ju² i¹-fu⁵
  - Yale: syūng-dì rú shǒu-dzú-, chī-dž rú yī-fu
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shiongdih ru shooutzwu, chitzyy ru i.fu
  - Palladius: сюнди жу шоуцзу, цицзы жу ифу (sjundi žu šouczu, ciczy žu ifu)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɕi̯ʊŋ⁵⁵ ti⁵¹ ʐu³⁵ ʂoʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ t͡su³⁵ t͡ɕʰi⁵⁵ t͡sz̩²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʐu³⁵ i⁵⁵ fu²/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
  - Jyutping: hing¹ dai⁶ jyu⁴ sau² zuk¹, cai¹ zi² jyu⁴ ji¹ fuk⁶
  - Yale: hīng daih yùh sáu jūk, chāi jí yùh yī fuhk
  - Cantonese Pinyin: hing¹ dai⁶ jy⁴ sau² dzuk⁷, tsai¹ dzi² jy⁴ ji¹ fuk⁹
  - Guangdong Romanization: hing¹ dei⁶ yu⁴ seo² zug¹, cei¹ ji² yu⁴ yi¹ fug⁶
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /hɪŋ⁵⁵ tɐi̯²² jyː²¹ sɐu̯³⁵ t͡sʊk̚⁵ t͡sʰɐi̯⁵⁵ t͡siː³⁵ jyː²¹ jiː⁵⁵ fʊk̚²/

Proverb

兄弟如手足，妻子如衣服

Brothers are like one's arms and legs, but wives and children (or women) are only like one's apparel (i.e. readily replaceable).

Descendants

→ Vietnamese: anh em như tay chân, vợ con như quần áo (calque) (and numerous similar expressions)

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