近水楼台先得月

近水樓臺先得月

jìnshuǐlóutáixiāndéyuè

idiom #71,002

Meanings

1 the pavilion nearest the water gets the moonlight first
2 those close to the source of favor benefit first / proximity has its privileges

Characters

building / tower

platform / terrace

to get / obtain

Examples

HSK 2

住在学校旁边的孩子近水楼台先得月，上学方便多了。

Zhù zài xuéxiào pángbiān de háizi jìnshuǐlóutáixiāndéyuè, shàngxué fāngbiàn duō le.

Kids living next to the school have the advantage of proximity - getting to class is much easier.

HSK 7-9

他在总部工作，近水楼台先得月，消息总比我们灵通。

Tā zài zǒngbù gōngzuò, jìnshuǐlóutáixiāndéyuè, xiāoxi zǒng bǐ wǒmen língtōng.

He works at headquarters, so as the pavilion nearest the water he always gets news before us.

Tips

history

From a poem by Song official 苏麟 to 范仲淹, recorded in Yu Wenbao's 《清夜录》: Fan promoted every local officer around him except Su Lin, so Su wrote: 近水楼台先得月，向阳花木易逢春 - 'The pavilion by the water gets the moon first; flowers and trees facing the sun meet spring more easily.' A polite, poetic hint for patronage. Fan took it and promoted him.

usage

Often used to describe people who benefit from proximity to power, information, or resources - sometimes neutral, sometimes mildly critical.

Stroke Order

近 jìn

水 shuǐ

楼 lóu

台 tái

先 xiān

得 de

月 yuè