不食人间烟火 in English bu4 shi2 ren2 jian1 yan1 huo3 Meaning

Meanings

  • literally (word for word) not eating the food of common mortals
  • metaphorically placing oneself above the common populace

Simplified Characters

不 食 人 间 烟 火

Traditional Characters

不 食 人 間 煙 火

Pinyin

bu4 shi2 ren2 jian1 yan1 huo3

Literal

Literal explanation, with pronunciation and meaning of each character.

不bu4(negative prefix) 食shi2to eat 人ren2man 间jian1between 烟yan1cigarette or pipe tobacco 火huo3surname Huo