失之东隅，收之桑榆

Traditional form:

失之東隅，收之桑榆

Pinyin (reading):

shīzhīdōngyú,shōuzhīsāngyú

Definitions:

• to lose at sunrise but gain at sunset (idiom)
• to compensate later for one's earlier loss
• what you lose on the swings you gain on the roundabouts

Characters:

• 失 - to lose; to make a mistake, to neglect
• 之 - marks preceding phrase as modifier of following phrase; it, him her, them; to go to
• 东 - east, eastern, eastward
• 隅 - corner, cranny, niche
• 收 - to collect, to gather, to harvest
• 之 - marks preceding phrase as modifier of following phrase; it, him her, them; to go to
• 桑 - mulberry tree; surname
• 榆 - elm tree

Traditional characters:

• 失 - to lose; to make a mistake, to neglect
• 之 - marks preceding phrase as modifier of following phrase; it, him her, them; to go to
• 東 - east, eastern, eastward
• 隅 - corner, cranny, niche
• 收 - to collect, to gather, to harvest
• 之 - marks preceding phrase as modifier of following phrase; it, him her, them; to go to
• 桑 - mulberry tree; surname
• 榆 - elm tree