# 相濡以沫
## Chinese

| | | each other; appearance; portraiteach other; appearance; portrait; picture; one another; mutually | dilatory; to moisten | to use; according to; so as toto use; according to; so as to; in order to; by; with; because; Israel (abbrev.) | foam; suds |
| trad. (相濡以沫) | trad. (相濡以沫) | 相 | 濡 | 以 | 沫 |
| simp. $^#$(相濡以沫) | simp. $^#$(相濡以沫) | 相 | 濡 | 以 | 沫 |
| Literally: “to moisten each other with spittle”. ||||||

### Etymology

From Zhuangzi [ca. 3rd – 2nd centuries BCE]:
    泉涸，魚相與處於陸，相呴以溼，相濡以沫，不如相忘於江湖。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]泉涸，鱼相与处于陆，相呴以湿，相濡以沫，不如相忘于江湖。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]From: Zhuangzi, circa 3rd – 2nd centuries BCEQuán hé, yú xiāngyǔ chǔ yú lù, xiāng xǔ yǐ shī, xiāng rú yǐ mò, bùrú xiāngwàng yú jiānghú. [Pinyin]When the springs are dried up, the fishes collect together on the land. Than that they should moisten one another there by the damp about them, and keep one another wet by their slime, it would be better for them to forget one another in the rivers and lakes.

### Pronunciation

* Mandarin
    (Pinyin): xiāngrúyǐmò
    (Zhuyin): ㄒㄧㄤ ㄖㄨˊ ㄧˇ ㄇㄛˋ
* Cantonese (Jyutping): soeng$^1$ jyu$^4$ ji$^5$ mut$^6$
* Mandarin
** (Standard Chinese)
*** Hanyu Pinyin: xiāngrúyǐmò
*** Zhuyin: ㄒㄧㄤ ㄖㄨˊ ㄧˇ ㄇㄛˋ
*** Tongyong Pinyin: siangrúyǐmò
*** Wade–Giles: hsiang$^1$-ju$^2$-i$^3$-mo$^4$
*** Yale: syāng-rú-yǐ-mwò
*** Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shiangruyiimoh
*** Palladius: сянжуимо (sjanžuimo)
*** Sinological IPA : /ɕi̯ɑŋ⁵⁵ ʐu³⁵ i²¹⁴⁻²¹ mu̯ɔ⁵¹/
* Cantonese
** (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
*** Jyutping: soeng$^1$ jyu$^4$ ji$^5$ mut$^6$
*** Yale: sēung yùh yíh muht
*** Cantonese Pinyin: soeng$^1$ jy$^4$ ji$^5$ mut$^9$
*** Guangdong Romanization: sêng$^1$ yu$^4$ yi$^5$ mud$^6$
*** Sinological IPA : /sœːŋ⁵⁵ jyː²¹ jiː¹³ muːt̚²/
* Middle Chinese: sjang nyu yiX mat
Rime :
| Character | 相 | 濡 | 以 | 沫 |
| Reading # | 1/2 | 1/2 | 1/1 | 1/1 |
| Initial (聲) | 心 (16) | 日 (38) | 以 (36) | 明 (4) |
| Final (韻) | 陽 (105) | 虞 (24) | 之 (19) | 末 (64) |
| Tone (調) | Level (Ø) | Level (Ø) | Rising (X) | Checked (Ø) |
| Openness (開合) | Open | Closed | Open | Closed |
| Division (等) | III | III | III | I |
| Fanqie | 息良切 | 人朱切 | 羊己切 | 莫撥切 |
| Baxter | sjang | nyu | yiX | mat |
| Reconstructions |||||
| Zhengzhang Shangfang | /sɨɐŋ/ | /ȵɨo/ | /jɨ$^X$/ | /muɑt̚/ |
| Pan Wuyun | /siɐŋ/ | /ȵio/ | /jɨ$^X$/ | /mʷɑt̚/ |
| Shao Rongfen | /siɑŋ/ | /ȵʑio/ | /ie$^X$/ | /muɑt̚/ |
| Edwin Pulleyblank | /sɨaŋ/ | /ȵuə̆/ | /jɨ$^X$/ | /mwat̚/ |
| Li Rong | /siaŋ/ | /ȵio/ | /iə$^X$/ | /muɑt̚/ |
| Wang Li | /sĭaŋ/ | /ȵʑĭu/ | /jĭə$^X$/ | /muɑt̚/ |
| Bernard Karlgren | /si̯aŋ/ | /ȵʑi̯u/ | /i$^X$/ | /muɑt̚/ |
| Expected Mandarin Reflex | xiāng | rú | yǐ | mò |
| Expected Cantonese Reflex | soeng$^1$ | jyu$^4$ | ji$^5$ | mut$^6$ |
* Old Chinese
    (Baxter–Sagart): /*[s]aŋ no ləʔ mˤat/
    (Zhengzhang): /*slaŋ njo lɯʔ maːd/
Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014) :
| Character | 相 | 濡 | 以 | 沫 |
| Reading # | 1/2 | 1/1 | 1/1 | 1/1 |
| Modern Beijing (Pinyin) | xiāng | rú | yǐ | mò |
| Middle Chinese | ‹ sjang › | ‹ nyu › | ‹ yi$^X$ › | ‹ mat › |
| Old Chinese | /*[s]aŋ/ | /*no/ | /*ləʔ/ | /*mˁat/ |
| English | mutually | wet, glossy | take, use | foam, spittle |
| Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p; * Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary. |||||
Zhengzhang system (2003) :
| Character | 相 | 濡 | 以 | 沫 |
| Reading # | 1/2 | 1/2 | 1/1 | 1/1 |
| No. | 13579 | 13970 | 14929 | 9233 |
| Phonetic component | 相 | 需 | 以 | 末 |
| Rime group | 陽 | 侯 | 之 | 月 |
| Rime subdivision | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Corresponding MC rime | 襄 | 儒 | 以 | 末 |
| Old Chinese | /*slaŋ/ | /*njo/ | /*lɯʔ/ | /*maːd/ |
| Notes | | 需轉註字 | | |

### Idiom

相濡以沫
* (figurative) to help each other pull through a crisis; mutual help when both are in humble situations
* (figurative, of a loving couple) to accompany each other through times of prosperity and hardships till the end of time