千呼萬喚

Chinese

		thousand	to call; to cry; to shout to call; to cry; to shout; to breath out; to exhale	ten thousand; a great number; surname	to call
trad. (千呼萬喚)		千	呼	萬	喚
simp. (千呼万唤)		千	呼	万	唤

Etymology

From the poem 琵琶行 (The Song of the Pipa Player) by Bai Juyi (772-846):

千呼萬喚始出來，猶抱琵琶半遮面。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]

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千呼万唤始出来，犹抱琵琶半遮面。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: 816, 白居易 (Bai Juyi), 琵琶行 (The Song of the Pipa Player)

Qiānhūwànhuàn shǐ chūlái, yóu bào pípá bàn zhē miàn. [Pinyin]

Yet we called and urged a thousand times before she started toward us,
Still hiding half her face from us behind her pipa.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): qiānhūwànhuàn

  (Zhuyin): ㄑㄧㄢ ㄏㄨ ㄨㄢˋ ㄏㄨㄢˋ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): cin¹ fu¹ maan⁶ wun⁶

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: qiānhūwànhuàn
    • Zhuyin: ㄑㄧㄢ ㄏㄨ ㄨㄢˋ ㄏㄨㄢˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: cianhuwànhuàn
    • Wade–Giles: chʻien¹-hu¹-wan⁴-huan⁴
    • Yale: chyān-hū-wàn-hwàn
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: chianhuwannhuann
    • Palladius: цяньхуваньхуань (cjanʹxuvanʹxuanʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ xu⁵⁵ wän⁵¹⁻⁵³ xu̯än⁵¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: cin¹ fu¹ maan⁶ wun⁶
    • Yale: chīn fū maahn wuhn
    • Cantonese Pinyin: tsin¹ fu¹ maan⁶ wun⁶
    • Guangdong Romanization: qin¹ fu¹ man⁶ wun⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰiːn⁵⁵ fuː⁵⁵ maːn²² wuːn²²/

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• Middle Chinese: tshen xu mjonH xwanH

Rime
Character	千	呼	萬	喚
Reading #	1/1	1/1	1/1	1/1
Initial (聲)	清 (14)	曉 (32)	明 (4)	曉 (32)
Final (韻)	先 (85)	模 (23)	元 (66)	桓 (62)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)	Level (Ø)	Departing (H)	Departing (H)
Openness (開合)	Open	Open	Closed	Closed
Division (等)	IV	I	III	I
Fanqie	蒼先切	荒烏切	無販切	火貫切
Baxter	tshen	xu	mjonH	xwanH
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/t͡sʰen/	/huo/	/mʉɐnH/	/huɑnH/
Pan Wuyun	/t͡sʰen/	/huo/	/mʷiɐnH/	/hʷɑnH/
Shao Rongfen	/t͡sʰɛn/	/xo/	/miuɐnH/	/xuɑnH/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/t͡sʰɛn/	/hɔ/	/muanH/	/hwanH/
Li Rong	/t͡sʰen/	/xo/	/miuɐnH/	/xuɑnH/
Wang Li	/t͡sʰien/	/xu/	/mĭwɐnH/	/xuɑnH/
Bernard Karlgren	/t͡sʰien/	/xuo/	/mi̯wɐnH/	/xuɑnH/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	qiān	hū	wàn	huàn
Expected Cantonese Reflex	cin1	fu1	maan6	fun3

Idiom

千呼萬喚

1. to urge many times