Chinese idiom · 成语
饮水思源
Meaning
Drinking water, recall the source; remember origins.
Character by character
Origin and story
Poetic teachingYu Xin's Northern Zhou court song Zhi Diao Qu (徵調曲), preserved among his ritual lyrics, links good rule with the natural order. Within that praise, it pairs two everyday acts: someone taking fruit should think of the tree, and someone drinking flowing water should remember its source.
The source uses a longer formulation, 飲其流者懷其源. The familiar idiom condenses the water image into a reminder not to forget the origins of a benefit. In wider use, the source may be a teacher, family member, community, or earlier generation. The gratitude is the central point; the phrase does not require a literal visit to the spring from which water came.
Sources and further reading
In everyday life
这次获奖离不开团队的帮助，我要饮水思源，认真感谢每一位伙伴。
I could not have won this award without the team, and I want to acknowledge and thank every person who helped.
Remembering and acknowledging the people or circumstances behind a benefit.