撼树蚍蜉 — “To ridiculously overrate oneself”

撼树蚍蜉 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to ridiculously overrate oneself”. To attempt something far beyond one's capability, like an ant trying to shake a mighty tree. Literally, “An ant trying to shake a tree”.

Frequency

撼树蚍蜉 Pronunciation and Pinyin

撼树蚍蜉 Character Breakdown

Stroke Order

Character	Pinyin	Strokes	Meaning
撼	hàn	16	shake or move something
树	shù	9	tree or plant
蚍	pí	10	ant trying to shake a tree
蜉	fú	13	mayfly or insignificant ant

Example Sentence with 撼树蚍蜉

他想凭借一己之力改变公司的发展方向，真是有点撼树蚍蜉，不自量力。

He tried to alter the company's development direction relying solely on his own strength; it was truly like an ant trying to shake a tree, ridiculously overestimating his own capabilities.

Origin and Story of 撼树蚍蜉

During the Tang Dynasty, not long after the great poets Li Bai and Du Fu had passed away, some individuals began to groundlessly disparage their literary works.

Han Yu, a prominent writer of the time, was greatly displeased by this. He then wrote a poem to his friend Zhang Ji, titled "Tiao Zhang Ji" (调张籍), expressing his strong disapproval.

In the poem, he wrote, "Li and Du's literary works endure, their brilliance shines for ten thousand zhang (an ancient unit of length); unaware are these foolish youngsters, why then do they maliciously defame them? Ants trying to shake a great tree \u2013 how laughable their overestimation of themselves."

Zhang Ji readily agreed with Han Yu's sentiments.