清官难断家务事 qīng guān nán duàn jiā wù shì

DEFINITIONS

  1. even an honest and upright official will have difficulty resolving a family dispute (proverb)

CHARACTERS

清 qīng clear, pure, clean; peaceful
官 guān official, public servant
难 nán difficult, arduous, hard; unable
断 duàn sever, cut off; interrupt
家 jiā house, home, residence; family
务 wù affairs, business; must, should
事 shì affair, matter, business; to serve; accident, incident