早知今日何必当初 in English zao3 zhi1 jin1 ri4 he2 bi4 dang1 chu1 Meaning

Meanings

  • if I (you, she, he...) had known it would come to this, I (you, she, he...) would not have acted thus (idiomatic expression)
  • to regret vainly one's past behavior

Simplified Characters

早 知 今 日 何 必 当 初

Traditional Characters

早 知 今 日 何 必 當 初

Pinyin

zao3 zhi1 jin1 ri4 he2 bi4 dang1 chu1

Literal

Literal explanation, with pronunciation and meaning of each character.

早zao3early 知zhi1to know 今jin1now 日ri4abbr. for 日本[Ri4 ben3], Japan 何he2surname He 必bi4certainly 当dang1(onom.) dong 初chu1at first