解铃还须系铃人 in English jie3 ling2 hai2 xu1 xi4 ling2 ren2 Meaning

Meanings

  • literally (word for word) whoever hung the bell on the tiger's neck must untie it (idiomatic expression)
  • metaphorically whoever started the trouble should end it

Simplified Characters

解 铃 还 须 系 铃 人

Traditional Characters

解 鈴 還 須 繫 鈴 人

Pinyin

jie3 ling2 hai2 xu1 xi4 ling2 ren2

Literal

Literal explanation, with pronunciation and meaning of each character.

解jie3surname Xie 铃ling2(small) bell 还hai2surname Huan 须xu1must 系xi4to connect 铃ling2(small) bell 人ren2man