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釜底游鱼
釜底游鱼
釜底游鱼
釜底游鱼
釜底游鱼
釜底游鱼
釜底游鱼
釜底游鱼

釜底游鱼 — “Like a fish swimming in the bottom of a cauldron”

釜底游鱼 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “Like a fish swimming in the bottom of a cauldron”. Signifying a person in a desperate, inescapable situation or something facing imminent destruction. Literally, “Fish swimming at the bottom of a cauldron”.

Frequency

釜底游鱼 Pronunciation and Pinyin

釜底游鱼 Character Breakdown

Stroke Order
CharacterPinyinStrokesMeaning
釜
fǔ10ancient cooking pot
底
dǐ8bottom; base; background
游
yóu12swim, travel, wander
鱼
yú8aquatic vertebrate with gills and fins

Example Sentence with 釜底游鱼

在敌人的包围下,他们感到自己就像釜底游鱼,插翅难逃。
Under the enemy's siege, they felt like fish in a cauldron, with no chance of escape.

Origin and Story of 釜底游鱼

During the Eastern Han Dynasty, the renowned upright official Zhang Gang was framed by the powerful general Liang Ji.

Zhang Gang was assigned as the prefect of Guangling, a region plagued by bandits, a scheme intended to use the bandits to eliminate him.

Upon arriving in Guangling, Zhang Gang's first action was to visit the rebel leader Zhang Ying's camp to negotiate his surrender.

Zhang Ying, who held Zhang Gang in high esteem for his integrity, described his predicament as being 'like a fish in the bottom of a cauldron' before agreeing to submit to the imperial court.

Idioms Related to 釜底游鱼

Synonyms of 釜底游鱼

  • wèng瓮zhōng中zhī之biē鳖a sure catch
  • yú鱼yóu游fèi沸dǐng鼎in imminent danger
  • yú鱼yóu游fǔ釜zhōng中in a perilous situation with no way out

Antonyms of 釜底游鱼

  • huà化xiǎn险wéi为yí夷turn danger into safety

More idioms starting with 釜

  • fǔ釜zhōng中zhī之yú鱼doomed to imminent death or failure
  • fǔ釜zhōng中yóu游yú鱼doomed person or thing
  • fǔ釜zhōng中shēng生chén尘extremely poor, cooking pot unused
  • fǔ釜zhōng中shēng生yú鱼extreme poverty, long-term destitution
  • fǔ釜zhōng中yú鱼facing imminent destruction or doom
  • fǔ釜dǐ底chōu抽xīn薪remove the cause of trouble
  • fǔ釜dǐ底yóu游hún魂barely clinging to life
  • fǔ釜shēng生yú鱼utterly destitute, long without food
  • fǔ釜yú鱼mù幕yàn燕in imminent peril
  • fǔ釜yú鱼zèng甑chén尘live in extreme poverty

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Questions about 釜底游鱼

What does 釜底游鱼 mean?

釜底游鱼 (fǔ dǐ yóu yú) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “Like a fish swimming in the bottom of a cauldron”.

How do you pronounce 釜底游鱼?

釜底游鱼 is pronounced fǔ dǐ yóu yú in Mandarin Chinese.

What does 釜底游鱼 literally mean?

Literally, 釜底游鱼 means “Fish swimming at the bottom of a cauldron”. It is used to mean “Like a fish swimming in the bottom of a cauldron”.

Where does 釜底游鱼 come from?

釜底游鱼 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.

What is the Chinese definition of 釜底游鱼?

在锅里游着的鱼。比喻处在绝境的人。也比喻即将灭亡的事物。

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