曾经沧海难为水,除却巫山不是云

céng jīng cāng hǎi nán wéi shuǐ , chú què wū shān bù shì yún

there are no rivers to one who has crossed the ocean, and no clouds to one who has passed Mount Wu (idiom)

one who has seen the world doesn't stop at small things

céng

once

jīng

classics

cāng

(bound form) (of water, esp. the ocean) deep blue-green

hǎi

ocean

nán

difficult (to...)

wéi

variant of 為|为[wei2]

shuǐ

water

,

chú

to get rid of

què

but

also pr. [Wu2]

shān

mountain; hill (CL:座[zuo4])

no; not so

shì

to be (followed by substantives only)

yún

abbr. for Yunnan Province 雲南省|云南省[Yun2 nan2 Sheng3]