五人合撑一把伞，小人全靠大人遮五人合撐一把傘，小人全靠大人遮五人合撐一把傘，小人全靠大人遮

five people share one umbrella: the small people (small people) all depend on the big people (big people) to shelter them

Saying俗语俗語

Two-part saying歇后语歇後語 · Rarely used now

Meaning: Lowly people depend on powerful people for protection. Said, with a wry tone, of subordinates relying on their patrons.
Wordplay: 小人 (xiǎorén) means both short people and people of low status; 大人 (dàren) means both tall people and people of high rank.

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Simplified: 五人合撑一把伞，小人全靠大人遮
Traditional (Taiwan): 五人合撐一把傘，小人全靠大人遮
Pinyin: wǔ rén hé chēng yì bǎ sǎn, xiǎorén quán kào dàren zhē
Bopomofo: ㄨˇ ㄖㄣˊ ㄏㄜˊ ㄔㄥㄧˋ ㄅㄚˇ ㄙㄢˇ，ㄒㄧㄠˇ ㄖㄣˊ ㄑㄩㄢˊ ㄎㄠˋ ㄉㄚˋ ˙ㄖㄣㄓㄜ

Written with HSK 7-9 vocabulary, at CEFR level C1.

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