螳臂当车 — “Mantis arm blocking a chariot”
螳臂当车 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to wildly overrate one's own strength and attempt to stop an overwhelmingly superior force, leading to inevitable failure; a futile attempt to resist an irresistible force”. Literally, “Mantis arm blocking a chariot”.
螳臂当车 Pronunciation and Pinyin
- 螳táng
- 臂bì
- 当dāng
- 车chē
螳臂当车 Character Breakdown
Example Sentence with 螳臂当车
Origin and Story of 螳臂当车
During the Spring and Autumn period, there was a virtuous man in the State of Lu named Yan He. He was invited by Duke Ling of Wei to be the tutor for his crown prince, Kuai Gui. Yan He had heard that Kuai Gui was a notoriously wicked person. Upon arriving in Wei, he first visited Qu Boyu, a wise man of Wei, to seek advice on how to effectively teach the prince.
Qu Boyu replied, "It is good and beneficial that you came to inquire first, but it will be very difficult to successfully teach the prince using your abilities." He further added, "Do you not know about the mantis? It brandishes its arms to block the chariot wheel, unaware that it is utterly incapable of doing so, yet it believes its talent is excellent. Be warned, be cautious!"
He meant that the mantis raises its forelegs to stop a moving chariot wheel, completely unaware of its own inadequacy, firmly believing its action to be good and beneficial.
Qu Boyu then advised Yan He, "Yan He! Your intentions are good, but your actions are like a mantis trying to stop a chariot. You must be on guard! Be careful!"
Idioms Related to 螳臂当车
Synonyms of 螳臂当车
Antonyms of 螳臂当车
More idioms starting with 螳
- táng螳bì臂dāng当yuán辕overestimate strength, futile attempt
- táng螳bì臂dāng当zhé辙overestimate strength, futile resistance
- táng螳bì臂è扼zhé辙overestimate strength, futile resistance
- táng螳bì臂dǎng挡chē车overestimate strength, futile attempt
- táng螳bì臂zì自xióng雄Overestimate one's power and act recklessly
- táng螳láng螂fèn奋bì臂Overestimate capabilities, invite failure
- táng螳láng螂jù拒zhé辙futilely resist overwhelming force
- táng螳láng螂bǔ捕shé蛇Overcome stronger opponent with clever tactics
- táng螳láng螂bǔ捕chán蝉Focused on small gain, unaware of greater danger
- táng螳láng螂bǔ捕chán蝉，，huáng黄què雀zài在hòu后focused on immediate gain, oblivious to greater danger
- táng螳láng螂huáng黄què雀short-sighted pursuit of immediate gain
Questions about 螳臂当车
- What does 螳臂当车 mean?
- 螳臂当车 (táng bì dāng chē) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to wildly overrate one's own strength and attempt to stop an overwhelmingly superior force, leading to inevitable failure; a futile attempt to resist an irresistible force”.
- How do you pronounce 螳臂当车?
- 螳臂当车 is pronounced táng bì dāng chē in Mandarin Chinese.
- What does 螳臂当车 literally mean?
- Literally, 螳臂当车 means “Mantis arm blocking a chariot”. It is used to mean “to wildly overrate one's own strength and attempt to stop an overwhelmingly superior force, leading to inevitable failure; a futile attempt to resist an irresistible force”.
- Where does 螳臂当车 come from?
- 螳臂当车 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
- What is the Chinese definition of 螳臂当车?
- 当：阻挡。螳螂举起前肢企图阻挡车子前进。比喻做力量做不到的事情，必然失败。