三顾茅庐

Traditional form:

三顧茅廬

Pinyin (reading):

sāngùmáolú

Definitions:

• lit. to make three visits to the thatched cottage (idiom) (allusion to an episode in Romance of the Three Kingdoms 三國演義／三国演义 ( Sānguó Yǎnyì) in which Liu Bei 劉備／刘备 ( Liú Bèi) recruits Zhuge Liang 諸葛亮／诸葛亮 ( Zhūgě Liàng) to his cause by visiting him three times)
• fig. to make earnest and repeated requests of sb

Characters:

• 三 - three
• 顾 - to look back; to look at; to look after
• 茅 - rushes, reeds, grass; surname
• 庐 - hut, cottage; the name of a mountain

Traditional characters:

• 三 - three
• 顧 - to look back; to look at; to look after
• 茅 - rushes, reeds, grass; surname
• 廬 - hut, cottage; the name of a mountain