有意栽花花不发，无心插柳柳成阴 in English you3 yi4 zai1 hua1 hua1 bu4 fa1 , wu2 xin1 cha1 liu3 liu3 cheng2 yin1 Meaning

Meanings

  • literally (word for word) you plant a garden and the flowers do not bloom, you poke a stick in the mud and it grows into a tree
  • metaphorically things do not always turn out as one would expect
  • well-laid plans may fail, and success may come where you least expect it

Simplified Characters

有 意 栽 花 花 不 发 ， 无 心 插 柳 柳 成 阴

Traditional Characters

有 意 栽 花 花 不 發 ， 無 心 插 柳 柳 成 陰

Pinyin

you3 yi4 zai1 hua1 hua1 bu4 fa1 , wu2 xin1 cha1 liu3 liu3 cheng2 yin1

Literal

Literal explanation, with pronunciation and meaning of each character.

有you3to have 意yi4Italy 栽zai1to grow 花hua1surname Hua 花hua1surname Hua 不bu4(negative prefix) 发fa1to send out ， 无wu2not to have 心xin1heart 插cha1to insert 柳liu3surname Liu 柳liu3surname Liu 成cheng2surname Cheng 阴yin1surname Yin