杀鸡取卵 — “To sacrifice long-term benefits for immediate gains”
杀鸡取卵 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to sacrifice long-term benefits for immediate gains”. To destroy the source of future profit for present advantage, much like killing the goose that lays the golden eggs.
Frequency
杀鸡取卵 Pronunciation and Pinyin
- 杀shā
- 鸡jī
- 取qǔ
- 卵luǎn
杀鸡取卵 Character Breakdown
Example Sentence with 杀鸡取卵
为了眼前的蝇头小利，过度消耗自然资源，无异于杀鸡取卵
Over-exploiting natural resources for paltry immediate gains is akin to killing the goose that lays the golden eggs.
Origin and Story of 杀鸡取卵
Once upon a time, there was a greedy man who kept a hen. He made a living by selling its eggs.
One day, the hen laid a golden egg. He examined it carefully, thinking there must be many more inside the hen.
So, he killed the hen, searched meticulously, but found nothing. His act of killing the hen for its eggs was utterly foolish.
Idioms Related to 杀鸡取卵
Synonyms of 杀鸡取卵
More idioms starting with 杀
- shā杀yī一jǐng儆bǎi百punish one to warn many
- shā杀yī一lì利bǎi百punish one to warn many
- shā杀yī一lì砺bǎi百punish one to warn many
- shā杀yī一jǐng警bǎi百punish one to warn many
- shā杀rén人bù不yòng用dāo刀destroy reputation without violence
- shā杀rén人bù不zhǎ眨yǎn眼ruthless and merciless killer
- shā杀rén人bù不jiàn见xuè血harm insidiously without trace
- shā杀rén人cháng偿mìng命，，qiàn欠zhài债huán还qián钱Life for a life, debt for a debt
- shā杀rén人jié劫cái财kill people and rob property
- shā杀rén人rú如jiè芥slaughter people like weeds
- shā杀rén人rú如cǎo草slaughter people like grass
- shā杀rén人rú如hāo蒿slaughter people on a massive scale
Questions about 杀鸡取卵
- What does 杀鸡取卵 mean?
- 杀鸡取卵 (shā jī qǔ luǎn) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to sacrifice long-term benefits for immediate gains”.
- How do you pronounce 杀鸡取卵?
- 杀鸡取卵 is pronounced shā jī qǔ luǎn in Mandarin Chinese.
- Where does 杀鸡取卵 come from?
- 杀鸡取卵 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to modern Chinese. The full story is on this page.
- What is the Chinese definition of 杀鸡取卵?
- 卵：蛋。为了要得到鸡蛋，不惜把鸡杀了。比喻贪图眼前的好处而不顾长远利益。