三個和尚沒水喝 sān gè hé shang méi shuǐ hē

fig. everybody's business is nobody's business

Word data

HSK Not in HSK
Frequency Unknown

Definitions

  1. 1. fig. everybody's business is nobody's business
  2. 2. lit. three monks have no water to drink (idiom)
  3. 3. (If there is one monk, he will fetch water for himself. If there are two, they will fetch water together. But if there are three or more, none will take it upon himself to fetch water.)

Characters

Character Meaning
三 sān HSK 1
three; 3; surname San
個 gè
classifier for people or objects in general; individual
和 hé HSK 1
and; with; together with
尚 shang HSK 5
still; yet; to value
沒 méi
not; (negative prefix for verbs); have not
水 shuǐ HSK 1
water; liquid; beverage
喝 hē HSK 1
to drink; variant of 嗬hē; to shout