三教九流 in English san1 jiao4 jiu3 liu2 Meaning

Meanings

  • the Three Religions (Daoism, Confucianism, Buddhism) and Nine Schools (Confucians, Daoists, Yin-Yang, Legalists, Logicians, Mohists, Political Strategists, Eclectics, Agriculturists)
  • metaphorically people from all trades (often depreciative, diminishing)

Simplified Characters

三 教 九 流

Traditional Characters

三 教 九 流

Pinyin

san1 jiao4 jiu3 liu2

Literal

Literal explanation, with pronunciation and meaning of each character.

三san1surname San 教jiao4surname Jiao 九jiu3nine 流liu2to flow