江湖
jiāng hú
Pinyin

Definition

江湖
 - 
jiāng hú
  1. rivers and lakes
  2. all corners of the country
  3. remote areas to which hermits retreat
  4. section of society operating independently of mainstream society, out of reach of the law
  5. the milieu in which wuxia tales play out (cf. 武俠|武侠[wǔ xiá])
  6. (in late imperial times) world of traveling merchants, itinerant doctors, fortune tellers etc
  7. demimonde
  8. (in modern times) triads
  9. secret gangster societies
  10. underworld

Character Decomposition

Related Words (20)

江
Jiāng
  1. 1 surname Jiang
江南
Jiāng nán
  1. 1 south of Changjiang or Yangtze river
  2. 2 south of the lower reaches of Changjiang
  3. 3 often refers to south Jiangsu, south Anhui and north Zhejiang provinces
  4. 4 a province during Qing times
  5. 5 in literature, refers to the sunny south
  6. 6 Gangnam (district in Seoul, South Korea)
江山
Jiāng shān
  1. 1 Jiangshan county level city in Quzhou 衢州[Qú zhōu], Zhejiang
江湖
jiāng hú
  1. 1 rivers and lakes
  2. 2 all corners of the country
  3. 3 remote areas to which hermits retreat
  4. 4 section of society operating independently of mainstream society, out of reach of the law
  5. 5 the milieu in which wuxia tales play out (cf. 武俠|武侠[wǔ xiá])
  6. 6 (in late imperial times) world of traveling merchants, itinerant doctors, fortune tellers etc
  7. 7 demimonde
  8. 8 (in modern times) triads
  9. 9 secret gangster societies
  10. 10 underworld
江苏
Jiāng sū
  1. 1 Jiangsu province (Kiangsu) in southeast China, abbr. 蘇|苏, capital Nanjing 南京
江西
Jiāng xī
  1. 1 Jiangxi province (Kiangsi) in southeast China, abbr. 赣, capital Nanchang 南昌
浙江
Zhè jiāng
  1. 1 Zhejiang province (Chekiang) in east China, abbr. 浙, capital Hangzhou 杭州
湖
hú
  1. 1 lake
  2. 2 CL:個|个[gè],片[piàn]
湖北
Hú běi
  1. 1 Hubei Province (Hupeh) in central China, abbr. 鄂[È], capital Wuhan 武漢|武汉[Wǔ hàn]
湖南
Hú nán
  1. 1 Hunan province in south central China, abbr. 湘, capital Changsha 長沙|长沙[Cháng shā]
西湖
Xī hú
  1. 1 Xihu or West lake (place name)
  2. 2 West Lake in Hangzhou 杭州, Zhejiang
  3. 3 Xihu or Hsihu township in Miaoli county 苗栗縣|苗栗县[Miáo lì xiàn], northwest Taiwan
长江
Cháng Jiāng
  1. 1 Yangtze River, or Chang Jiang
丽江
Lì jiāng
  1. 1 Lijiang prefecture-level city in northwest Yunnan
九江
Jiǔ jiāng
  1. 1 Jiujiang prefecture-level city in Jiangxi
  2. 2 also Jiujiang county
五湖四海
wǔ hú sì hǎi
  1. 1 all parts of the country
内江
Nèi jiāng
  1. 1 Neijiang prefecture level city in Sichuan
千岛湖
Qiān dǎo Hú
  1. 1 Qiandao Lake in Zhejiang, aka Xin'an River Reservoir, created as part of a large hydroelectric project in 1959
南湖
Nán hú
  1. 1 Nanhu district of Jiaxing city 嘉興市|嘉兴市[Jiā xīng shì], Zhejiang
吴江
Wú jiāng
  1. 1 Wujiang county level city in Suzhou 蘇州|苏州[Sū zhōu], Jiangsu
大明湖
Dà míng Hú
  1. 1 Daming Lake in Jinan 濟南|济南[Jǐ nán], Shandong

Idioms (14)

人在江湖，身不由己
rén zài jiāng hú , shēn bù yóu jǐ
  1. 1 you can't always do as you like
  2. 2 one has to compromise in this world (idiom)
大江南北
Dà jiāng nán běi
  1. 1 north and south sides of the Yangtze River (idiom)
  2. 2 (fig.) all over China
指点江山
zhǐ diǎn jiāng shān
  1. 1 to talk idly about important matters (idiom)
  2. 2 to set the world to rights
  3. 3 to pass judgment on everything
文江学海
wén jiāng xué hǎi
  1. 1 river of literacy, sea of learning (idiom); ars longa, vita brevis
春江水暖鸭先知
chūn jiāng shuǐ nuǎn yā xiān zhī
  1. 1 lit. the duck is the first to know if the spring water is warm (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. an expert in the field knows which way the wind blows
江山易改，本性难移
jiāng shān yì gǎi , běn xìng nán yí
  1. 1 it is easier to change mountains and rivers than to alter one's character (idiom)
  2. 2 you can't change who you are
  3. 3 Can the leopard change his spots?
江河日下
jiāng hé rì xià
  1. 1 rivers pour away by the day (idiom); going from bad to worse
  2. 2 deteriorating day by day
江郎才尽
Jiāng láng cái jìn
  1. 1 Jiang Yan has exhausted his talent (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. to have used up one's creative powers
  3. 3 to have writer's block
湖光山色
hú guāng shān sè
  1. 1 scenic lakes and mountain (idiom); beautiful lake and mountain landscape
无颜见江东父老
wú yán jiàn Jiāng dōng fù lǎo
  1. 1 (idiom) to be unable to return to one's hometown due to the shame of failure (originally referred to Xiang Yu 項羽|项羽[Xiàng Yǔ], who chose not to retreat to Jiangdong after his humiliating defeat)
翻江倒海
fān jiāng dǎo hǎi
  1. 1 lit. overturning seas and rivers (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. overwhelming
  3. 3 earth-shattering
  4. 4 in a spectacular mess
船到江心，补漏迟
chuán dào jiāng xīn , bǔ lòu chí
  1. 1 It's too late to plug the leak once ship is in the middle of the river. (idiom)
万里江山
wàn lǐ jiāng shān
  1. 1 lit. ten thousand miles of rivers and mountains
  2. 2 a vast territory (idiom)
长江后浪推前浪
Cháng Jiāng hòu làng tuī qián làng
  1. 1 lit. the rear waves of the Yangtze River drive on those before (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. the new is constantly replacing the old
  3. 3 each new generation excels the previous
  4. 4 (of things) to be constantly evolving

Sample Sentences

啊？梁朝伟这种老江湖竟然会阴沟里翻船，和我们八卦杂志的女记者约会？
ǎ ？Liáng Cháowěi zhèzhǒng lǎojiānghú jìngrán huì yīngōu lǐ fānchuán ，hé wǒmen bāguà zázhì de nǚ jìzhě yuēhuì ？
Ah, youth is a great commodity to have. Isn't that the good thing about having journalist interns? It's like the Underground Communists-- they can wage war deep in enemy territory.
Go to Lesson 
去，你这个江湖术士，少来烦我了，我还是赶紧下班回去休息养病吧！
qù ，nǐ zhè ge jiānghúshùshì ，shǎo lái fán wǒ le ，wǒ háishì gǎnjǐn xiàbān huíqu xiūxi yǎngbìng ba ！
Away with you, you quack. Stop annoying me. I'd be better to just hurry up and go home to rest until I'm better!
Go to Lesson 
哈哈哈！你还说我是江湖术士，要是掉在你这块脏地板都不沾细菌，那母猪都能上树了！
hā hā hā ！nǐ hái shuō wǒ shì jiānghúshùshì ，yàoshì diào zài nǐ zhè kuài zāng dìbǎn dōu bù zhān xìjùn ，nà mǔ zhū dōu néng shàng shù le ！
Ha ha! And you said I'm the quack! If it didn't get covered in germs after dropping on your dirty floor then pigs can fly!
Go to Lesson 
你真以为自己是江湖人啊？
nǐ zhēn yǐwéi zìjǐ shì jiānghúrén a ？
Hahaha so you really think you are a Jianghu hero?
Go to Lesson 
人在江湖，身不由己啊！
rénzàijiānghúshēnbùyóujǐ a ！
A man can't help but go with the tide.
Go to Lesson 
很多白手起家的大老板江湖味都很重。
hěn duō báishǒuqǐjiā de dà lǎobǎn jiānghúwèi dōu hěn zhòng 。
A lot of bosses that started/came from nothing give off a strong gangsta vibe
Go to Lesson 
江湖味很重
jiānghúwèi hěn zhòng
a strong gansta vibe
Go to Lesson 
义气本来就带有江湖色彩。《水浒》里的梁山好汉，从严格意义上说，也是一群江湖人物，但我们还是把他们当英雄。
yìqi běnlái jiù dàiyǒu jiānghú sècǎi 。《Shuǐhǔ 》lǐ de Liángshān hǎohàn ，cóng yángé yìyì shàng shuō ，yě shì yīqún jiānghú rénwù ，dàn wǒmen hái shì bǎ tāmen dàng yīngxióng 。
Go to Lesson 
嗨，人在江湖身不由己。做我们这种买卖就是要担风险的。你想买什么枪？
hāi ，rén zài jiānghú shēnbùyóujǐ 。zuò wǒmen zhèzhǒng mǎimài jiùshì yào dān fēngxiǎn de 。nǐ xiǎng mǎi shénme qiāng ？
Hey, people in this line of work have no choice. When you do this kind of business you have to take risks. Which gun do you wanna buy?
Go to Lesson