青梅竹馬

See also: 青梅竹马

Chinese

		green (blue, black); Qinghai province (abbrev.)	plum flower	hobby horse; bamboo horse used in folk dance
trad. (青梅竹馬/靑梅竹馬)		青/靑	梅	竹馬
simp. (青梅竹马)		青	梅	竹马
Literally: “green plums and bamboo horse”.

Etymology

From a poem by Tang dynasty poet Li Bai:

妾髮初覆額，折花門前劇。郎騎竹馬來，繞床弄青梅。同居長干里，兩小無嫌猜。十四為君婦，羞顏未嘗開。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]

---

妾发初覆额，折花门前剧。郎骑竹马来，绕床弄青梅。同居长干里，两小无嫌猜。十四为君妇，羞颜未尝开。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: Li Bai (701–762), Ballad of a Trader's Wife (長干里), translated by Xu Yuanchong

Qiè fà chū fù é, zhé huā mén qián jù. Láng qí zhúmǎ lái, rào chuáng nòng qīng méi. Tóngjū cháng gān lǐ, liǎng xiǎo wú xián cāi. Shísì wéi jūn fù, xiū yán wèicháng kāi. [Pinyin]

My forehead covered by my hair cut straight,
I played with flowers pluck'd before the gate.
On hobby horse you came upon the scene,
Around the well we played with plums still green.
We lived, close neighbors on Riverside Lane,
Carefree and innocent, we children twain.
At fourteen years when I became your bride,
I'd often turn my bashful face aside. […]

The same poem was also the source of the idiom 兩小無猜／两小无猜 (liǎngxiǎowúcāi), which has a very similar meaning.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): qīngméizhúmǎ

  (Zhuyin): ㄑㄧㄥ ㄇㄟˊ ㄓㄨˊ ㄇㄚˇ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): cing¹ mui⁴ zuk¹ maa⁵
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): chheng-mûi-tiok-má

  (Teochew, Peng'im): cên¹ bhuê⁵ dêg⁴ bhê²

• Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ¹chin-me-tsoq-ma

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: qīngméizhúmǎ
    • Zhuyin: ㄑㄧㄥ ㄇㄟˊ ㄓㄨˊ ㄇㄚˇ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: cingméijhúmǎ
    • Wade–Giles: chʻing¹-mei²-chu²-ma³
    • Yale: chīng-méi-jú-mǎ
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: chingmeijwumaa
    • Palladius: цинмэйчжума (cinmɛjčžuma)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕʰiŋ⁵⁵ meɪ̯³⁵ ʈ͡ʂu³⁵ mä²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: cing¹ mui⁴ zuk¹ maa⁵
    • Yale: chīng mùih jūk máh
    • Cantonese Pinyin: tsing¹ mui⁴ dzuk⁷ maa⁵
    • Guangdong Romanization: qing¹ mui⁴ zug¹ ma⁵
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰɪŋ⁵⁵ muːi̯²¹ t͡sʊk̚⁵ maː¹³/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chheng-mûi-tiok-má
    • Tâi-lô: tshing-muî-tiok-má
    • Phofsit Daibuun: zhengmui'diokmar
    • IPA (Xiamen): /t͡sʰiɪŋ⁴⁴⁻²² muĩ²⁴⁻²² tiɔk̚³²⁻⁴ mã⁵³/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /t͡sʰiɪŋ³³ muĩ²⁴⁻²² tiɔk̚⁵⁻²⁴ mã⁵⁵⁴/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /t͡sʰiɪŋ⁴⁴⁻²² muĩ¹³⁻²² tiɔk̚³²⁻⁵ mã⁵³/
    • IPA (Taipei): /t͡sʰiɪŋ⁴⁴⁻³³ muĩ²⁴⁻¹¹ tiɔk̚³²⁻⁴ mã⁵³/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /t͡sʰiɪŋ⁴⁴⁻³³ muĩ²³⁻³³ tiɔk̚³²⁻⁴ mã⁴¹/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: cên¹ bhuê⁵ dêg⁴ bhê²
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: tsheⁿ buê tek bé
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰẽ³³⁻²³ bue⁵⁵ tek̚²⁻⁴ be⁵²⁻²¹/
• Wu
  • (Northern: Shanghai)
    • Wugniu: ¹chin-me-tsoq-ma
    • MiniDict: chin^平 me tsoh ma
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ¹qin-me-tsoq-ma
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /t͡ɕʰin⁵⁵ me³³ t͡soʔ³³ ma²¹/

---

• Middle Chinese: tsheng mwoj trjuwk maeX

Rime
Character	青	梅	竹	馬
Reading #	1/1	1/1	1/1	1/1
Initial (聲)	清 (14)	明 (4)	知 (9)	明 (4)
Final (韻)	青 (125)	灰 (42)	屋 (4)	麻 (98)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)	Level (Ø)	Checked (Ø)	Rising (X)
Openness (開合)	Open	Closed	Open	Open
Division (等)	IV	I	III	II
Fanqie	倉經切	莫杯切	張六切	莫下切
Baxter	tsheng	mwoj	trjuwk	maeX
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/t͡sʰeŋ/	/muʌi/	/ʈɨuk̚/	/mˠaX/
Pan Wuyun	/t͡sʰeŋ/	/muoi/	/ʈiuk̚/	/mᵚaX/
Shao Rongfen	/t͡sʰɛŋ/	/muɒi/	/ȶiuk̚/	/maX/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/t͡sʰɛjŋ/	/mwəj/	/ʈuwk̚/	/maɨX/
Li Rong	/t͡sʰeŋ/	/muᴀi/	/ȶiuk̚/	/maX/
Wang Li	/t͡sʰieŋ/	/muɒi/	/ȶĭuk̚/	/maX/
Bernard Karlgren	/t͡sʰieŋ/	/muɑ̆i/	/ȶi̯uk̚/	/maX/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	qīng	méi	zhu	mǎ
Expected Cantonese Reflex	cing1	mui4	zuk1	maa5

Idiom

青梅竹馬

1. a girl and a boy playing innocently together; a man and a woman who had an innocent affection for each other in childhood; childhood sweethearts

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (青梅竹馬):

• → Vietnamese: thanh mai trúc mã (青梅竹馬)

References

• 蔡俊明 [Cai Junming], editor (1991), “青梅竹馬 ts'e~˧ bue˥ tek˨꜒ be˥˧꜕꜖”, in 潮州方言詞滙／潮州方言词滙 (Cháozhōu fāngyán cíhuì), 香港 [Hong Kong]: 香港中文大學／香港中文大学 [The Chinese University of Hong Kong]