小屈大伸 — “To bend a little, to stretch a lot”
小屈大伸 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to endure minor inconveniences or humiliations for the sake of achieving greater things later; to concede a little to gain a lot”. Literally, “To bend a little, to stretch a lot”.
小屈大伸 Pronunciation and Pinyin
小屈大伸 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 小屈大伸
Origin and Story of 小屈大伸
During the late Three Kingdoms period, Liu Shan, the emperor of Shu Han, was incompetent and weak-willed. The eunuch Huang Hao seized absolute power, often colluding with Chen Zhi.
Shi Kuang, the Secretary, was a loyal and astute official who understood the art of compromise. He believed that one must endure minor grievances and temporary setbacks to achieve greater things in the future.
After the fall of Shu Han, Liu Shan was escorted to Luoyang. Many officials abandoned him, but Shi Kuang, demonstrating profound loyalty, chose to leave his wife and children to accompany Liu Shan alone into exile, embodying the spirit of 'enduring a little to gain a lot' through his steadfast devotion.
Idioms Related to 小屈大伸
Synonyms of 小屈大伸
More idioms starting with 小
- xiǎo小bù不rěn忍zé则luàn乱dà大móu谋Impatience in small things spoils great plans
- xiǎo小chǒu丑tiào跳liáng梁Insignificant villains stirring up mischief
- xiǎo小zhōng中jiàn见dà大see the big in the small
- xiǎo小rén人dé得zhì志petty person achieves success
- xiǎo小xìn信wèi未fú孚Small trust not yet convinced
- xiǎo小tōu偷xiǎo小mō摸to engage in petty theft
- xiǎo小ér儿pò破zéi贼youngster achieves great accomplishments
- xiǎo小guān冠zi子xià夏a person with poor eyesight
- xiǎo小shòu受dà大zǒu走endure minor punishment, flee severe beating
- xiǎo小qì器yì易yíng盈narrow-minded, easily conceited
- xiǎo小guó国guǎ寡mín民small country with few people
- xiǎo小dà大yóu由zhī之applicable to both large and small matters
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Open the tool →Questions about 小屈大伸
What does 小屈大伸 mean?
小屈大伸 (xiǎo qū dà shēn) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to endure minor inconveniences or humiliations for the sake of achieving greater things later; to concede a little to gain a lot”.
How do you pronounce 小屈大伸?
小屈大伸 is pronounced xiǎo qū dà shēn in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 小屈大伸 literally mean?
Literally, 小屈大伸 means “to bend a little, to stretch a lot”. It is used to mean “to endure minor inconveniences or humiliations for the sake of achieving greater things later; to concede a little to gain a lot”.
Where does 小屈大伸 come from?
小屈大伸 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 小屈大伸?
屈：委屈。伸：展开，发挥出来。先能够受点委屈，而后会大有作为的。