危于累卵 — “Extremely precarious or perilous”

Q: What is the Chinese definition of 危于累卵?

比垒起的蛋还危险。比喻极其危险。

危于累卵 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “Extremely precarious or perilous”. In a highly dangerous and unstable situation, like eggs piled high, on the verge of collapsing or failing. Literally, “Precarious as piled eggs”.

Frequency

危于累卵 Pronunciation and Pinyin

危于累卵 Character Breakdown

Stroke Order

Character	Pinyin	Strokes	Meaning
危	wēi	6	dangerous, in peril
于	yú	3	at, in, on, to, from
累	lěi	11	tired, accumulate, burden
卵	luǎn	7	egg or ovum

Example Sentence with 危于累卵

经过大地震后，这座老旧的建筑摇摇欲坠，其安全性危于累卵。

After the severe earthquake, the old building was crumbling, its safety as precarious as piled eggs.

Origin and Story of 危于累卵

During the Spring and Autumn period, Duke Ling of Jin, in pursuit of pleasure, ordered the construction of a nine-story tower. After three years, it was still unfinished, causing great hardship among the common people.

Duke Ling of Jin also forbade his ministers from offering any advice. Xun Xi devised a plan.

In front of Duke Ling of Jin, he first stacked 12 chess pieces, and then carefully piled nine eggs on top. Eventually, the eggs tumbled down and shattered.

Duke Ling of Jin understood the analogy, which illustrated the extreme danger of his current situation and the tower project, and subsequently ordered the construction to be halted.