鼠技虎名 — “Mouse skills, tiger's name”
鼠技虎名 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “describes someone with insignificant abilities or an insignificant position who tries to exert undue authority or act arrogantly, often to oppress others, drawing a false sense of power from a superficial 'tiger's name' or position”. Literally, “Mouse skills, tiger's name”.
鼠技虎名 Pronunciation and Pinyin
鼠技虎名 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 鼠技虎名
Origin and Story of 鼠技虎名
People in Chu referred to tigers as 'laochong' (old bugs), while people in Gusu referred to mice as 'laochong'.
Once, an official from Changzhou was on an official trip to Loudong. He spent the night at an inn. Just as he blew out the lamp and fell asleep, he heard a noise outside the door.
He asked the doorman what it was. The doorman replied, 'It's a laochong.' Terrified, the official wanted to flee.
The doorman reassured him, saying, 'No need to panic, it's merely a small mouse. A mouse borrowing the name of a tiger truly gains an imposing reputation.'
Idioms Related to 鼠技虎名
More idioms starting with 鼠
- shǔ鼠tōu偷gǒu狗dào盗petty thievery
- shǔ鼠rù入niú牛jiǎo角get into a shrinking predicament
- shǔ鼠píng凭shè社guì贵bully by relying on powerful connections
- shǔ鼠niè啮chóng虫chuān穿damaged by rodents and insects
- shǔ鼠niè啮dù蠹shí蚀damaged by rodents and insects
- shǔ鼠shǐ屎wū汙gēng羹spoil a good thing with a flaw
- shǔ鼠shǐ屎wū污gēng羹spoil something good with a minor flaw
- shǔ鼠xīn心láng狼fèi肺treacherous and cruel heart
- shǔ鼠cuān撺láng狼bēn奔scurry like rats, flee like wolves
- shǔ鼠yá牙què雀jiǎo角Petty disputes leading to lawsuits
- shǔ鼠dào盗gǒu狗qiè窃engage in petty theft
- shǔ鼠mù目cùn寸guāng光Short-sighted and narrow-minded
Recommended tools
Stroke Order Animator
Turn a Chinese character or sentence into a GIF or MP4
Open the tool →
Picture Worksheets
Chinese and English fill-in vocabulary worksheets
Open the tool →
Character Highlight Animator
Choose character parts and animate their colors, together or in stroke order
Open the tool →
Chinese Text Image Generator
Create PNGs with pinyin, highlight character parts or remove strokes
Open the tool →Questions about 鼠技虎名
What does 鼠技虎名 mean?
鼠技虎名 (shǔ jì hǔ míng) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “describes someone with insignificant abilities or an insignificant position who tries to exert undue authority or act arrogantly, often to oppress others, drawing a false sense of power from a superficial 'tiger's name' or position”.
How do you pronounce 鼠技虎名?
鼠技虎名 is pronounced shǔ jì hǔ míng in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 鼠技虎名 literally mean?
Literally, 鼠技虎名 means “Mouse skills, tiger's name”. It is used to mean “describes someone with insignificant abilities or an insignificant position who tries to exert undue authority or act arrogantly, often to oppress others, drawing a false sense of power from a superficial 'tiger's name' or position”.
Where does 鼠技虎名 come from?
鼠技虎名 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 鼠技虎名?
只有老鼠之流的雕虫小技敢冒老虎的威名。指当权者作威作福欺压百姓