泥菩萨过江，自身难保

Traditional form:

泥菩薩過江，自身難保

Pinyin (reading):

nípúsàguòjiāng,zìshēnnánbǎo

Definitions:

• like a clay Bodhisattva fording a river, can't guarantee his own safety
• unable to save oneself, let alone others

Characters:

• 泥 - mud, earth, clay; plaster, paste
• 菩 - herb, aromatic plant
• 萨 - Buddhist diety; used in transliterations
• 过 - pass; to go across, to pass through
• 江 - large river; the Yangtze; surname
• 自 - self; private, personal; from
• 身 - body, torso; person; pregnancy
• 难 - hard, difficult, arduous; unable
• 保 - to safeguard, to protect, to defend, to care for

Traditional characters:

• 泥 - mud, earth, clay; plaster, paste
• 菩 - herb, aromatic plant
• 薩 - Buddhist diety; used in transliterations
• 過 - pass; to go across, to pass through
• 江 - large river; the Yangtze; surname
• 自 - self; private, personal; from
• 身 - body, torso; person; pregnancy
• 難 - hard, difficult, arduous; unable
• 保 - to safeguard, to protect, to defend, to care for