万丈高楼平地起 in English wan4 zhang4 gao1 lou2 ping2 di4 qi3 Meaning

Meanings

  • towering buildings are built up from the ground (idiomatic expression)
  • great oaks from little acorns grow

Simplified Characters

万 丈 高 楼 平 地 起

Traditional Characters

萬 丈 高 樓 平 地 起

Pinyin

wan4 zhang4 gao1 lou2 ping2 di4 qi3

Literal

Literal explanation, with pronunciation and meaning of each character.

万wan4see 万俟[Mo4 qi2] 丈zhang4measure of length, ten Chinese feet (3.3 m) 高gao1surname Gao 楼lou2surname Lou 平ping2surname Ping 地di4-ly 起qi3to rise