歇後語

See also: 歇后语

Chinese

		to rest	back; behind; rear back; behind; rear; afterwards; after; later	speech; language; dialect speech; language; dialect; tell to
trad. (歇後語)		歇	後	語
simp. (歇后语)		歇	后	语
Literally: “words after a pause”.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): xiēhòuyǔ

  (Zhuyin): ㄒㄧㄝ ㄏㄡˋ ㄩˇ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): kit³ hau⁶ jyu⁵, hit³ hau⁶ jyu⁵
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): hiat-hō͘-gú / hioh-āu-gí

  (Teochew, Peng'im): hiah⁴ ao⁶ ghe²

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: xiēhòuyǔ
    • Zhuyin: ㄒㄧㄝ ㄏㄡˋ ㄩˇ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: siehòuyǔ
    • Wade–Giles: hsieh¹-hou⁴-yü³
    • Yale: syē-hòu-yǔ
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shiehowyeu
    • Palladius: сехоуюй (sexoujuj)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɕi̯ɛ⁵⁵ xoʊ̯⁵¹ y²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
      
  • (Standard Chinese, erhua-ed) (歇後語兒／歇后语儿)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: xiēhòuyǔr
    • Zhuyin: ㄒㄧㄝ ㄏㄡˋ ㄩˇㄦ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: siehòuyǔr
    • Wade–Giles: hsieh¹-hou⁴-yü³-ʼrh
    • Yale: syē-hòu-yǔr
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shiehowyeuel
    • Palladius: сехоуюйр (sexoujujr)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɕi̯ɛ⁵⁵ xoʊ̯⁵¹ yə̯ɻ²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: kit³ hau⁶ jyu⁵, hit³ hau⁶ jyu⁵
    • Yale: kit hauh yúh, hit hauh yúh
    • Cantonese Pinyin: kit⁸ hau⁶ jy⁵, hit⁸ hau⁶ jy⁵
    • Guangdong Romanization: kid³ heo⁶ yu⁵, hid³ heo⁶ yu⁵
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kʰiːt̚³ hɐu̯²² jyː¹³/, /hiːt̚³ hɐu̯²² jyː¹³/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: hiat-hō͘-gú
    • Tâi-lô: hiat-hōo-gú
    • Phofsit Daibuun: hiathoxguo
    • IPA (Xiamen): /hiɛt̚³²⁻⁴ hɔ²²⁻²¹ ɡu⁵³/
  • (Hokkien: General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: hioh-āu-gí
    • Tâi-lô: hioh-āu-gí
    • Phofsit Daibuun: hioih'auxgie
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /hiɤ(ʔ)³²⁻⁴¹ au³³⁻²¹ ɡi⁴¹/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: hiah⁴ ao⁶ ghe²
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: hiah ău gṳ́
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /hiaʔ²⁻⁴ au³⁵⁻¹¹ ɡɯ⁵²/

Noun

歇後語

1. xiehouyu (An idiomatic two-part double pun. Part one is akin to a riddle, while part two is usually a double pun based on part one. The second part is often omitted. An example in English might be "make like a tree and leave.")

   • 毛主席的那個經典歇後語「和尚打傘，無法無天」 [MSC, trad.]
     毛主席的那个经典歇后语「和尚打伞，无法无天」 [MSC, simp.]

     From: 2004: 浅谈文化差异下的英汉成语的理解和互译 (A brief discussion on understanding English and Chinese idioms and translating between the two languages, considering cultural differences)

     Máo zhǔxí de nàge jīngdiǎn xiēhòuyǔ “héshàngdǎsǎn, wúfǎwútiān” [Pinyin]

     that classic double pun used by Chairman Mao, "A bald monk holding up an umbrella, no (respect for) law and order." (法 (fǎ, “law”) and 髮／发 (fà, “hair”) are homophones in Chinese; 天 (tiān) literally means sky, but it is also short for 天理 (tiānlǐ, “heavenly justice”).)

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 歇後語 (“xiehouyu”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		歇後語, 俏皮話
Mandarin	Beijing	歇後語兒
	Taiwan	歇後語
	Singapore	歇後語
Cantonese	Guangzhou	歇後語, 背語
	Hong Kong	歇後語
Hakka	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	師傅話, 功夫話, 太監話
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	師傅話, 功夫話, 太監話
Southern Min	Xiamen	剺揭話
	Quanzhou	剺揭話
	Zhangzhou	剺揭話
	Taipei	孽譎仔話 GT
	Tainan	孽譎話
	Chaozhou	歇後語
	Jieyang	歇後語
	Singapore (Teochew)	歇後語
Note	GT - General Taiwanese (no specific region identified)

See also

• 成語／成语 (chéngyǔ)
• 俗語／俗语 (súyǔ)
• 諺語／谚语 (yànyǔ)