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争鸡失羊
争鸡失羊
争鸡失羊
争鸡失羊
争鸡失羊
争鸡失羊
争鸡失羊
争鸡失羊

争鸡失羊 — “To covet a small gain and suffer a great loss”

争鸡失羊 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to covet a small gain and suffer a great loss”. Penny wise and pound foolish. Literally, “Contend for a chicken, lose a sheep”.

Frequency

争鸡失羊 Pronunciation and Pinyin

争鸡失羊 Character Breakdown

Stroke Order
CharacterPinyinStrokesMeaning
争
zhēng6strive for or compete
鸡
jī7chicken
失
shī5lose, miss, or fail
羊
yáng6sheep or goat

Example Sentence with 争鸡失羊

做事情不能只盯着眼前的蝇头小利,否则就容易争鸡失羊,得不偿失。
When doing things, one should not only focus on immediate small gains, otherwise it's easy to be penny wise and pound foolish and suffer more loss than gain.

Idioms Related to 争鸡失羊

Synonyms of 争鸡失羊

  • yīn因xiǎo小shī失dà大lose a lot for a little

More idioms starting with 争

  • zhēng争xiān先shì士zú卒soldiers vying to be first
  • zhēng争xiān先kǒng恐hòu后vie to be first, fear to lag
  • zhēng争guāng光rì日yuè月bring glory that rivals sun and moon
  • zhēng争fēn分duó夺miǎo秒race against time
  • zhēng争qián前kǒng恐hòu后scramble to be first
  • zhēng争míng名yú于cháo朝,,zhēng争lì利yú于shì市scramble for fame and profit
  • zhēng争míng名duó夺lì利scramble for fame and fortune
  • zhēng争míng名jìng竞lì利scramble for fame and profit
  • zhēng争míng名zhú逐lì利scramble for fame and profit
  • zhēng争duō多jìng竞shǎo少dispute over minor gains and losses
  • zhēng争duō多lùn论shǎo少haggle over every little bit
  • zhēng争tiān天kàng抗sú俗defy nature and challenge norms

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Questions about 争鸡失羊

What does 争鸡失羊 mean?

争鸡失羊 (zhēng jī shī yáng) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to covet a small gain and suffer a great loss”.

How do you pronounce 争鸡失羊?

争鸡失羊 is pronounced zhēng jī shī yáng in Mandarin Chinese.

What does 争鸡失羊 literally mean?

Literally, 争鸡失羊 means “Contend for a chicken, lose a sheep”. It is used to mean “to covet a small gain and suffer a great loss”.

What is the Chinese definition of 争鸡失羊?

比喻贪小失大。

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