青出于蓝而胜于蓝 in English qing1 chu1 yu2 lan2 er2 sheng4 yu2 lan2 Meaning

Meanings

  • literally (word for word) the color blue is made out of indigo but is more vivid than indigo (idiomatic expression)
  • metaphorically the student surpasses the master

Simplified Characters

青 出 于 蓝 而 胜 于 蓝

Traditional Characters

青 出 於 藍 而 勝 於 藍

Pinyin

qing1 chu1 yu2 lan2 er2 sheng4 yu2 lan2

Literal

Literal explanation, with pronunciation and meaning of each character.

青qing1abbr. for 青海[Qing1 hai3], Qinghai Province 出chu1to go out 于yu2surname Yu 蓝lan2surname Lan 而er2and 胜sheng4victory 于yu2surname Yu 蓝lan2surname Lan