People & Bonds
水魚之交
수어지교
shuǐ yú zhī jiāo
Su-eo-ji-gyo
水
물 수
魚
고기 어
之
갈 지
交
사귈 교
Character by character
Meaning
The bond of water and fish — a tie that cannot be undone.
Origin
From the Records of the Three Kingdoms, where Liu Bei likened his bond with Zhuge Liang to water and fish.
How it is used
Used for colleagues or partners who cannot function without each other.
Hanja水魚之交
Simplified水鱼之交
Korean reading수어지교
Pinyinshuǐ yú zhī jiāo
Frequently asked questions
Q. What does Su-eo-ji-gyo mean?
水魚之交 · The bond of water and fish — a tie that cannot be undone.
Q. Where does Su-eo-ji-gyo come from?
From the Records of the Three Kingdoms, where Liu Bei likened his bond with Zhuge Liang to water and fish.
Q. How is Su-eo-ji-gyo used?
Used for colleagues or partners who cannot function without each other.
Idioms in the same group
管鮑之交 Gwan-po-ji-gyoThe friendship of Guan Zhong and Bao Shuya — friends who truly know each other.竹馬故友 Juk-ma-go-uAn old friend from bamboo-horse days — someone you grew up with.百年偕老 Baeng-nyeon-hae-roGrowing old together for a hundred years.同苦同樂 Dong-go-dong-nakSharing the hardship and the joy alike.人之常情 In-ji-sang-jeongThe ordinary feeling any human being would have.類類相從 Yu-yu-sang-jongLike follows like — similar people gather together.
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.