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Chinese/Dictionary entry

人往高处爬，水往低处流

rén wǎng gāo chù pá , shuǐ wǎng dī chù liúdictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
see 人往高處走，水往低處流|人往高处走，水往低处流[rén wǎng gāo chù zǒu , shuǐ wǎng dī chù liú]
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-edde24c9c944fe30. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

人往高處爬，水往低處流 人往高处爬，水往低处流 [ren2 wang3 gao1 chu4 pa2 , shui3 wang3 di1 chu4 liu2] /see 人往高處走，水往低處流|人往高处走，水往低处流[ren2 wang3 gao1 chu4 zou3 , shui3 wang3 di1 chu4 liu2]/

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: 人往高處爬，水往低處流

  • 人
  • 往
    wǎng

    to go (in a direction) / to / towards / (of a train) bound for / past / previous

  • 高
    gāo

    high / tall / above average / loud / your (honorific)

    Gāo

    surname Gao

  • 处
    chǔ

    to reside / to live / to dwell / to be in / to be situated at / to stay / to get along with / to be in a position of / to deal with / to discipline / to punish

    chù

    (bound form) place / locality / (bound form) part / aspect / (bound form) office / department / bureau / classifier for locations: spot, point

  • 爬
    pá

    to crawl / to climb / to get up or sit up

  • 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

  • 往
    wǎng

    to go (in a direction) / to / towards / (of a train) bound for / past / previous

  • 低
    dī

    low / beneath / to lower (one's head) / to let droop / to hang down / to incline

  • 处
    chǔ

    to reside / to live / to dwell / to be in / to be situated at / to stay / to get along with / to be in a position of / to deal with / to discipline / to punish

    chù

    (bound form) place / locality / (bound form) part / aspect / (bound form) office / department / bureau / classifier for locations: spot, point

  • 流
    liú

    to flow / to disseminate / to circulate or spread / to move or drift / to degenerate / to banish or send into exile / stream of water or sth resembling one / class, rate or grade

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.