未雨绸缪 in English wei4 yu3 chou2 mou2 Meaning

Meanings

  • literally (word for word) before it rains, bind around with silk (idiomatic expression, from Book of Songs 詩經|诗经); metaphorically to plan ahead
  • to prepare for a rainy day

Simplified Characters

未 雨 绸 缪

Traditional Characters

未 雨 綢 繆

Pinyin

wei4 yu3 chou2 mou2

Literal

Literal explanation, with pronunciation and meaning of each character.

未wei4not yet 雨yu3rain 绸chou2(light) silk 缪mou2surname Miao