隔岸观火 in English ge2 an4 guan1 huo3 Meaning

Meanings

  • to watch the fires burning across the river
  • to delay entering the fray until all others have been exhausted by fighting amongst themselves (idiomatic expression)

Simplified Characters

隔 岸 观 火

Traditional Characters

隔 岸 觀 火

Pinyin

ge2 an4 guan1 huo3

Literal

Literal explanation, with pronunciation and meaning of each character.

隔ge2to separate 岸an4variant of 岸[an4] 观guan1surname Guan 火huo3surname Huo