Conduct & Attitude
靑出於藍
청출어람
qīng chū yú lán
Cheong-chul-eo-ram
靑
푸를 청
出
날 출
於
어조사 어
藍
쪽 람
Character by character
Meaning
The blue drawn from the indigo plant is bluer than the plant — the student surpasses the teacher.
Origin
From the "Encouraging Learning" chapter of the Xunzi.
How it is used
Said with pride by a teacher whose student has outgrown them.
Hanja靑出於藍
Simplified青出于蓝
Korean reading청출어람
Pinyinqīng chū yú lán
Frequently asked questions
Q. What does Cheong-chul-eo-ram mean?
靑出於藍 · The blue drawn from the indigo plant is bluer than the plant — the student surpasses the teacher.
Q. Where does Cheong-chul-eo-ram come from?
From the "Encouraging Learning" chapter of the Xunzi.
Q. How is Cheong-chul-eo-ram used?
Said with pride by a teacher whose student has outgrown them.
Idioms in the same group
有備無患 Yu-bi-mu-hwanIf you prepare in advance, there is nothing to worry about.易地思之 Yeok-ji-sa-jiThink about it after swapping places with the other person.初志一貫 Cho-ji-il-gwanCarry the resolve you started with all the way through, unchanged.名不虛傳 Myeong-bul-heo-jeonThe reputation was not passed on in vain — it lives up to the name.大器晩成 Dae-gi-man-seongA great vessel takes long to finish — those destined for greatness succeed late.溫故知新 On-go-ji-sinStudy the old to understand the new.
The idioms used in Korea mix phrases from the Chinese classics with ones coined in Korea. Where an expression is not used in China, the entry says so.