水能载舟，亦能覆舟 in English shui3 neng2 zai4 zhou1 , yi4 neng2 fu4 zhou1 Meaning

Meanings

  • literally (word for word) water may keep the boat afloat but may also sink it (proverb)
  • metaphorically the people can support a regime or overturn it
  • if sth is used properly, one can benefit from it, otherwise it can do harm
  • things can be double-edged

Simplified Characters

水 能 载 舟 ， 亦 能 覆 舟

Traditional Characters

水 能 載 舟 ， 亦 能 覆 舟

Pinyin

shui3 neng2 zai4 zhou1 , yi4 neng2 fu4 zhou1

Literal

Literal explanation, with pronunciation and meaning of each character.

水shui3surname Shui 能neng2surname Neng 载zai4to record in writing 舟zhou1boat ， 亦yi4also 能neng2surname Neng 覆fu4variant of 復|复[fu4] 舟zhou1boat