如人饮水，冷暖自知 in English ru2 ren2 yin3 shui3 , leng3 nuan3 zi4 zhi1 Meaning

Meanings

  • the person who drinks it knows best whether the water is hot or cold (Zen proverb); self-awareness comes from within
  • to know best by personal experience

Simplified Characters

如 人 饮 水 ， 冷 暖 自 知

Traditional Characters

如 人 飲 水 ， 冷 暖 自 知

Pinyin

ru2 ren2 yin3 shui3 , leng3 nuan3 zi4 zhi1

Literal

Literal explanation, with pronunciation and meaning of each character.

如ru2as 人ren2man 饮yin3old variant of 飲|饮[yin3] 水shui3surname Shui ， 冷leng3surname Leng 暖nuan3old variant of 暖[nuan3] 自zi4self 知zhi1to know