得鱼忘筌 — “Obtain the fish, forget the creel”
得鱼忘筌 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to forget the means by which one achieved success once the goal is accomplished; to discard or neglect what was useful after it has served its purpose, often implying ingratitude or short-sightedness”. Literally, “Obtain the fish, forget the creel”.
得鱼忘筌 Pronunciation and Pinyin
得鱼忘筌 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 得鱼忘筌
Origin and Story of 得鱼忘筌
An ancient fisherman went to the river to catch fish. He cast his bamboo creel (a type of fish trap) into the water and intently watched the bobber.
Eventually, a red carp entered the creel. Overjoyed, he took out the fish, tossed the creel aside, and hurried home to boast about his success.
His wife remarked that the credit also belonged to the creel and asked him where it was. Only then did the fisherman recall that he had forgotten to bring the creel home.
Idioms Related to 得鱼忘筌
Synonyms of 得鱼忘筌
Antonyms of 得鱼忘筌
More idioms starting with 得
- dé得yī一wàng望shí十insatiably greedy and never satisfied
- dé得yī一zhī知jǐ己，，sǐ死kě可wú无hèn恨To find a soulmate, die without regret
- dé得bù不cháng偿sàng丧losses outweigh gains
- dé得bù不cháng偿shī失the losses outweigh the gains
- dé得bù不bǔ补shī失gains do not offset losses
- dé得bù不chóu酬shī失gains do not compensate for losses
- dé得yú于xīn心yīng应yú于shǒu手mastery of mind and hand
- dé得rén人sǐ死lì力win people's utmost loyalty and effort
- dé得rén人zhě者chāng昌，，shī失rén人zhě者wáng亡Gain support, thrive; lose support, perish
- dé得rén人qián钱cái财，，yǔ与rén人xiāo消zāi灾take money, avert disaster
- dé得xiū休biàn便xiū休know when to stop
- dé得pián便yi宜mài卖guāi乖gain advantage and then act smug
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Open the tool →Questions about 得鱼忘筌
What does 得鱼忘筌 mean?
得鱼忘筌 (dé yú wàng quán) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to forget the means by which one achieved success once the goal is accomplished; to discard or neglect what was useful after it has served its purpose, often implying ingratitude or short-sightedness”.
How do you pronounce 得鱼忘筌?
得鱼忘筌 is pronounced dé yú wàng quán in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 得鱼忘筌 literally mean?
Literally, 得鱼忘筌 means “Obtain the fish, forget the creel”. It is used to mean “to forget the means by which one achieved success once the goal is accomplished; to discard or neglect what was useful after it has served its purpose, often implying ingratitude or short-sightedness”.
Where does 得鱼忘筌 come from?
得鱼忘筌 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 得鱼忘筌?
筌：捕鱼用的竹器。捕到了鱼，忘掉了筌。比喻事情成功以后就忘了本来依靠的东西。