水清无鱼 in English shui3 qing1 wu2 yu2 Meaning

Meanings

  • literally (word for word) water that is too clean holds no fish (idiomatic expression)
  • metaphorically one who is too severe has no friends

Simplified Characters

水 清 无 鱼

Traditional Characters

水 清 無 魚

Pinyin

shui3 qing1 wu2 yu2

Literal

Literal explanation, with pronunciation and meaning of each character.

水shui3surname Shui 清qing1Qing or Ch'ing dynasty of imperial China (1644-1911) 无wu2not to have 鱼yu2surname Yu