君子之交淡如水 jūn zǐ zhī jiāo dàn rú shuǐ

DEFINITIONS

  1. a gentleman's friendship, insipid as water (idiom, from Zhuangzi 莊子|庄子[Zhuang1 zi3])

CHARACTERS

君 jūn sovereign, monarch, ruler, chief, prince
子 zǐ offspring, child; fruit, seed of; 1st terrestrial branch
之 zhī marks preceding phrase as modifier of following phrase; it, him her, them; go to
交 jiāo mix; intersect; exchange, communicate; deliver
淡 dàn weak, watery; insipid, tasteless
如 rú if, supposing; as if; like, as
水 shuǐ water, liquid, lotion, juice