肥水不流外人田 féi shuǐ bù liú wài rén tián

DEFINITIONS

  1. lit. don't let one's own fertile water flow into others' field
  2. fig. keep the goodies within the family (proverb)

CHARACTERS

肥 féi fat, plump, obese; fertile
水 shuǐ water, liquid, lotion, juice
不 bù no, not; un-; negative prefix
流 liú flow, circulate, drift; class
外 wài out, outside, external; foreign
人 rén man; people; mankind; someone else
田 tián field, arable land, cultivated