断鹤续凫 — “To act against the natural order of things”
断鹤续凫 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to act against the natural order of things”. To make unnatural or arbitrary alterations, often leading to worse results. Literally, “To cut off a crane's long leg and graft it onto a duck's short leg”.
断鹤续凫 Pronunciation and Pinyin
断鹤续凫 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 断鹤续凫
Origin and Story of 断鹤续凫
Legend has it that in ancient times, there was a foolish but kind-hearted person who saw groups of wild ducks and white cranes pecking and playing in the water outside the city.
He noticed that cranes had long legs while wild ducks had short ones. He thought it would be inconvenient for them to walk together like that, so he caught them, cut a section from a crane's leg, and attached it to a wild duck's leg.
As a result, neither of them could walk anymore.
Idioms Related to 断鹤续凫
Synonyms of 断鹤续凫
More idioms starting with 断
- duàn断hū乎bù不kě可Absolutely not allowed
- duàn断shì事yǐ以lǐ理judge matters by reason
- duàn断shì事rú如shén神make incredibly accurate judgments
- duàn断jǐng井tuí颓yuán垣dilapidated courtyard
- duàn断jué决rú如liú流make quick and decisive judgments
- duàn断fú凫xù续hè鹤go against natural laws
- duàn断fà发wén文shēn身ancient custom of cutting hair and tattooing body
- duàn断fà发wén纹shēn身ancient custom of cutting hair and tattooing body
- duàn断guī圭suì碎bì璧precious literary fragments
- duàn断yuán垣cán残bì壁crumbling ruins
- duàn断mò墨cán残chǔ楮incomplete ancient texts
- duàn断bì壁cán残yuán垣ruins and dilapidated walls
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Open the tool →Questions about 断鹤续凫
What does 断鹤续凫 mean?
断鹤续凫 (duàn hè xù fú) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to act against the natural order of things”.
How do you pronounce 断鹤续凫?
断鹤续凫 is pronounced duàn hè xù fú in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 断鹤续凫 literally mean?
Literally, 断鹤续凫 means “to cut off a crane's long leg and graft it onto a duck's short leg”. It is used to mean “to act against the natural order of things”.
Where does 断鹤续凫 come from?
断鹤续凫 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 断鹤续凫?
断：截断；续：接；凫：野鸭。截断鹤的长腿去接续野鸭的短腿。比喻行事违反自然规律。