一蛇吞象 — “To be insatiably greedy, desiring something far beyond one's capacity”
一蛇吞象 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to be insatiably greedy, desiring something far beyond one's capacity”. To be excessively ambitious or covetous, often leading to failure. Literally, “One snake swallows an elephant”.
一蛇吞象 Pronunciation and Pinyin
一蛇吞象 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 一蛇吞象
Origin and Story of 一蛇吞象
Legend has it that in ancient times, there was a poor hunter named A Xiang. While hunting in the forest, he rescued a starving young snake and brought it home, meticulously caring for it.
The little snake gradually grew into a green snake and developed human-like intelligence, often bringing back valuable items from outside to repay A Xiang.
However, A Xiang repeatedly demanded more from the green snake, hoping to become extremely wealthy. Eventually, the enraged green snake swallowed the insatiably greedy fellow in one gulp.
Idioms Related to 一蛇吞象
Synonyms of 一蛇吞象
Antonyms of 一蛇吞象
More idioms starting with 一
- yī一dīng丁bù不shí识completely illiterate
- yī一dīng丁diǎn点er儿a tiny bit
- yī一bù不zuò作，，èr二bù不xiū休Finish what you start
- yī一bù不zuò做，，èr二bù不xiū休in for a penny, in for a pound
- yī一bù不yā压zhòng众，，bǎi百bù不suí随yī一The minority cannot prevail against the majority
- yī一bù不niǔ扭zhòng众One person cannot defy the crowd
- yī一shì世zhī之xióng雄A hero of a generation
- yī一shì世lóng龙mén门A generation's revered influential figure
- yī一qiū丘yī一hè壑live contentedly in nature
- yī一qiū丘zhī之hé貉birds of a feather
- yī一sī丝yī一háo毫the slightest amount
- yī一sī丝bù不luàn乱perfectly orderly and neat
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Open the tool →Questions about 一蛇吞象
What does 一蛇吞象 mean?
一蛇吞象 (yī shé tūn xiàng) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to be insatiably greedy, desiring something far beyond one's capacity”.
How do you pronounce 一蛇吞象?
一蛇吞象 is pronounced yī shé tūn xiàng in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 一蛇吞象 literally mean?
Literally, 一蛇吞象 means “one snake swallows an elephant”. It is used to mean “to be insatiably greedy, desiring something far beyond one's capacity”.
Where does 一蛇吞象 come from?
一蛇吞象 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 一蛇吞象?
一条蛇想吞吃一条大象。比喻人心不足，贪得无厌