螳螂捕蝉 — “Mantis catches cicada”
螳螂捕蝉 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to be so focused on immediate gain or a small advantage that one fails to foresee a greater danger or threat lurking behind; short-sighted pursuit of something without considering the larger risks”. Literally, “Mantis catches cicada”.
螳螂捕蝉 Pronunciation and Pinyin
螳螂捕蝉 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 螳螂捕蝉
Origin and Story of 螳螂捕蝉
During the Spring and Autumn period, King Shoumeng of Wu intended to attack the State of Chu and forbade his ministers from expressing dissenting opinions.
A son of one of the ministers, upon hearing this, took his slingshot to the royal garden to hunt birds. King Wu asked him what he was doing. He replied that he was watching a mantis catching a cicada on a tree, while behind it, an oriole was waiting to eat the mantis.
King Wu felt that his own situation was similar to that of the mantis, and thus had to cancel his plan.
Idioms Related to 螳螂捕蝉
Synonyms of 螳螂捕蝉
Antonyms of 螳螂捕蝉
More idioms starting with 螳
- táng螳bì臂dāng当chē车futile attempt to resist an irresistible force
- 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，，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
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Open the tool →Questions about 螳螂捕蝉
What does 螳螂捕蝉 mean?
螳螂捕蝉 (táng láng bǔ chán) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to be so focused on immediate gain or a small advantage that one fails to foresee a greater danger or threat lurking behind; short-sighted pursuit of something without considering the larger risks”.
How do you pronounce 螳螂捕蝉?
螳螂捕蝉 is pronounced táng láng bǔ chán in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 螳螂捕蝉 literally mean?
Literally, 螳螂捕蝉 means “Mantis catches cicada”. It is used to mean “to be so focused on immediate gain or a small advantage that one fails to foresee a greater danger or threat lurking behind; short-sighted pursuit of something without considering the larger risks”.
Where does 螳螂捕蝉 come from?
螳螂捕蝉 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 螳螂捕蝉?
蝉：知了。螳螂捉蝉，不知潜在危险。比喻目光短浅