塞翁失马焉知非福

sài wēng shī mǎ yān zhī fēi fú

the old man lost his mare, but it all turned out for the best (idiom); fig. a blessing in disguise

it's an ill wind that blows nobody any good

塞

sài

(bound form) strategic stronghold

翁

wēng

elderly man

失

shī

to lose

马

mǎ

abbr. for Malaysia 馬來西亞|马来西亚[Ma3 lai2 xi1 ya4]

焉

yān

where

知

zhī

to know

非

fēi

abbr. for 非洲[Fei1 zhou1], Africa

福

fú

abbr. for Fujian province 福建省[Fu2 jian4 Sheng3]