事危累卵 — “Precarious like stacked eggs”
事危累卵 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to be in an extremely precarious and dangerous situation, like a stack of eggs that could collapse at any moment; on the verge of collapse”. Literally, “Precarious like stacked eggs”.
事危累卵 Pronunciation and Pinyin
事危累卵 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 事危累卵
Origin and Story of 事危累卵
During the Spring and Autumn period, Duke Ling of Jin, solely for his own pleasure, ordered the construction of a nine-story tower. After three years, the tower was still unfinished, causing immense suffering among the common people. Yet, Duke Ling forbade his ministers from offering any advice.
Xun Xi devised a plan. In front of Duke Ling, he first stacked twelve chess pieces one on top of another. Then, he carefully placed nine eggs on top of the stacked chess pieces.
Naturally, the eggs soon toppled and smashed. Duke Ling, witnessing this, finally understood the extreme precariousness of the situation and immediately ordered the suspension of the construction project.
Idioms Related to 事危累卵
Synonyms of 事危累卵
Antonyms of 事危累卵
More idioms starting with 事
- shì事bù不guān关jǐ己to be indifferent to others' troubles
- shì事bù不guān关jǐ己，，gāo高gāo高guà挂qǐ起Remain indifferent to unrelated matters
- shì事bù不yí宜chí迟Act quickly without delay
- shì事bù不shī师gǔ古Act without learning from past experiences
- shì事bù不yǒu有yú余To reach the utmost degree
- shì事bù不guò过sān三Third time's the charm or you're out
- shì事yǔ与yuán原wéi违Things did not go as planned
- shì事yù与xīn心wéi违things turn out contrary to one's expectations
- shì事yǔ与yuàn愿wéi违Things don't turn out as hoped
- shì事yǐ以mì密chéng成Discretion ensures success
- shì事bèi倍gōng功bàn半much effort, little result
- shì事guān关zhòng重dà大A matter of great importance
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Open the tool →Questions about 事危累卵
What does 事危累卵 mean?
事危累卵 (shì wēi lěi luǎn) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to be in an extremely precarious and dangerous situation, like a stack of eggs that could collapse at any moment; on the verge of collapse”.
How do you pronounce 事危累卵?
事危累卵 is pronounced shì wēi lěi luǎn in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 事危累卵 literally mean?
Literally, 事危累卵 means “Precarious like stacked eggs”. It is used to mean “to be in an extremely precarious and dangerous situation, like a stack of eggs that could collapse at any moment; on the verge of collapse”.
Where does 事危累卵 come from?
事危累卵 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 事危累卵?
事情危险得像堆起来的蛋一样。形容形势极端危险。