鼠窃狗盗 — “To commit petty theft”
鼠窃狗盗 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to commit petty theft”. To engage in small-time pilfering and snatching. Literally, “Rat's stealing, dog's snatching”.
鼠窃狗盗 Pronunciation and Pinyin
鼠窃狗盗 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 鼠窃狗盗
Origin and Story of 鼠窃狗盗
Towards the end of the Qin Dynasty, peasant uprisings erupted across various regions.
However, Prime Minister Zhao Gao, in an act of 'pointing to a deer and calling it a horse,' claimed that messengers were spreading rumors and had them imprisoned.
When Qin Er Shi (the Second Emperor) inquired about the peasant uprisings, Shusun Tong dismissed them as mere 'rat-like pilfering and dog-like snatching,' assuring the emperor there was no need to panic. The Second Emperor promoted him.
Nevertheless, the Qin Dynasty was soon overthrown by these peasant uprisings.
Idioms Related to 鼠窃狗盗
Synonyms of 鼠窃狗盗
Antonyms of 鼠窃狗盗
More idioms starting with 鼠
- shǔ鼠tōu偷gǒu狗dào盗petty thievery
- shǔ鼠rù入niú牛jiǎo角get into a shrinking predicament
- shǔ鼠píng凭shè社guì贵bully by relying on powerful connections
- shǔ鼠niè啮chóng虫chuān穿damaged by rodents and insects
- shǔ鼠niè啮dù蠹shí蚀damaged by rodents and insects
- shǔ鼠shǐ屎wū汙gēng羹spoil a good thing with a flaw
- shǔ鼠shǐ屎wū污gēng羹spoil something good with a minor flaw
- shǔ鼠xīn心láng狼fèi肺treacherous and cruel heart
- shǔ鼠jì技hǔ虎míng名Insignificant person abusing power
- shǔ鼠cuān撺láng狼bēn奔scurry like rats, flee like wolves
- shǔ鼠yá牙què雀jiǎo角Petty disputes leading to lawsuits
- shǔ鼠dào盗gǒu狗qiè窃engage in petty theft
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Open the tool →Questions about 鼠窃狗盗
What does 鼠窃狗盗 mean?
鼠窃狗盗 (shǔ qiè gǒu dào) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to commit petty theft”.
How do you pronounce 鼠窃狗盗?
鼠窃狗盗 is pronounced shǔ qiè gǒu dào in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 鼠窃狗盗 literally mean?
Literally, 鼠窃狗盗 means “Rat's stealing, dog's snatching”. It is used to mean “to commit petty theft”.
Where does 鼠窃狗盗 come from?
鼠窃狗盗 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 鼠窃狗盗?
象老鼠少量窃取，象狗钻油偷盗。指小偷小摸。