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Chinese/Dictionary entry

三个和尚没水喝

sān gè hé shang méi shuǐ hēdictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
lit. three monks have no water to drink (idiom) / fig. everybody's business is nobody's business / (If there is one monk, he will fetch water for himself. If there are two, they will fetch water together. But if there are three or more, none will take it upon himself to fetch water.)
Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-61951c2549d38f77. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

三個和尚沒水喝 三个和尚没水喝 [san1 ge4 he2 shang5 mei2 shui3 he1] /lit. three monks have no water to drink (idiom)/fig. everybody's business is nobody's business/(If there is one monk, he will fetch water for himself. If there are two, they will fetch water together. But if there are three or more, none will take it upon himself to fetch water.)/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

Other forms in these source records: 三個和尚沒水喝

  • 三
    sān

    three / 3

    Sān

    surname San

  • 个
    gě

    used in 自個兒|自个儿[zì gě r]

    gè

    (classifier used before a noun that has no specific classifier) / (bound form) individual

  • 和
    hé

    (joining two nouns) and / together with / with (Taiwan pr. [hàn]) / (math.) sum / to make peace / (sports) to draw / to tie / (bound form) harmonious / (bound form) Japan / Japanese / (literary) harmonious (variant of 和[hé])

    hè

    to compose a poem in reply (to sb's poem) using the same rhyme sequence / to join in the singing / to chime in with others

    hú

    to complete a set in mahjong or playing cards

    huó

    to combine a powdery substance (flour, plaster etc) with water / Taiwan pr. [huò]

    huò

    to mix (ingredients) together / to blend / classifier for rinses of clothes / classifier for boilings of medicinal herbs

    Hé

    surname He

  • 尚
    shàng

    still / yet / to value / to esteem

    Shàng

    surname Shang

  • 没
    méi

    (negative prefix for verbs) have not / not

    mò

    drowned / to end / to die / to inundate

  • 水
    shuǐ

    water / (after a name) ... River / to swim (used mostly in 會水|会水[huì shuǐ] and 水性[shuǐ xìng]) / (coll.) lacking in substance / shoddy / (bound form) additional cost / extra income / classifier for washings of a garment

    Shuǐ

    surname Shui / Shui ethnic group

  • 喝
    hē

    to drink

    hè

    to shout

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.