How do you pronounce 争先恐后?

争先恐后 is pronounced zhēng xiān kǒng hòu in Mandarin Chinese.

What does 争先恐后 literally mean?

Literally, 争先恐后 means “strive for first, fear to lag behind”. It is used to mean “to vie with each other in an eagerness to be first, fearing to fall behind; to scramble for priority”.

Where does 争先恐后 come from?

争先恐后 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.

争先恐后 — “Strive for first, fear to lag behind”

争先恐后 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to vie with each other in an eagerness to be first, fearing to fall behind; to scramble for priority”. Literally, “strive for first, fear to lag behind”.

Frequency

争先恐后 Pronunciation and Pinyin

争zhēng
先xiān
恐kǒng
后hòu

争先恐后 Character Breakdown

Character	Pinyin	Strokes	Meaning
争	zhēng	6	strive for or compete
先	xiān	6	First, before, or ancestors
恐	kǒng	10	to fear, probably
后	hòu	6	after, behind, empress

Example Sentence with 争先恐后

活动开始后，孩子们争先恐后地跑向终点线。

After the activity started, the children scrambled to be first towards the finish line.

Origin and Story of 争先恐后

During the Spring and Autumn period, Zhao Xiangzi learned charioteering from Prince Qi. Not long after, he competed with Prince Qi. He swapped horses with Prince Qi three times, but each time he fell behind. Zhao Xiangzi blamed Prince Qi, saying, "You taught me how to drive, why didn't you teach me your true skills?"

Prince Qi replied, "I have taught you all the techniques of charioteering; it's just that you have a problem with your application. The most important thing in charioteering is to coordinate your horses and chariot well so that they can run fast and far."

"During the race, whenever you fell behind, you whipped your horses hard, desperately trying to overtake me; and once you were ahead, you constantly looked back at me, afraid I would catch up (争先恐后). In fact, in a race, sometimes being ahead and sometimes falling behind are both very natural. However, whether you were leading or lagging, your mind was always on me. How could you possibly coordinate your chariot and horses well then? This is why you fell behind."

Idioms Related to 争先恐后

Synonyms of 争先恐后

lì力zhēng争shàng上yóu游strive for the best

Antonyms of 争先恐后

tuì退bì避sān三shè舍give way to avoid conflict

More idioms starting with 争

Questions about 争先恐后

What does 争先恐后 mean?: 争先恐后 (zhēng xiān kǒng hòu) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to vie with each other in an eagerness to be first, fearing to fall behind; to scramble for priority”.
How do you pronounce 争先恐后?: 争先恐后 is pronounced zhēng xiān kǒng hòu in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 争先恐后 literally mean?: Literally, 争先恐后 means “strive for first, fear to lag behind”. It is used to mean “to vie with each other in an eagerness to be first, fearing to fall behind; to scramble for priority”.
Where does 争先恐后 come from?: 争先恐后 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 争先恐后?: 抢着向前，唯恐落后。

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