鸡虫得失 — “Fuss over trivial gains and losses”
鸡虫得失 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “Fuss over trivial gains and losses”. Concern over inconsequential matters. Literally, “Gains and losses between chickens and insects”.
鸡虫得失 Pronunciation and Pinyin
鸡虫得失 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 鸡虫得失
Origin and Story of 鸡虫得失
During the Tang Dynasty, the great poet Du Fu, while in Kuizhou, penned the poem 'The Song of Binding Chickens.'
In his poem, he wrote: 'A young servant ties chickens to sell them in the market; the chickens, bound tightly, clamor and fight. The household is tired of chickens eating insects and ants, unaware that the chickens, once sold, will face the cooking pot. What difference do chickens and insects make to humans? I scold the servant to release them. The gains and losses of chickens and insects are endless; I gaze at the cold river, leaning against the mountain pavilion.'
Du Fu used this imagery to express that these 'gains and losses' of chickens and insects were utterly trivial and inconsequential when compared to more profound human affairs.
Idioms Related to 鸡虫得失
Synonyms of 鸡虫得失
More idioms starting with 鸡
- jī鸡bù不jí及fèng凤The son is inferior to the father
- jī鸡zhēng争é鹅dòu斗to bicker constantly
- jī鸡fú伏gǔ鹄luǎn卵assign a major task to a person of limited ability
- jī鸡kǒu口niú牛hòu后Better to be a small leader than a big follower
- jī鸡shēng声é鹅dòu斗noisy quarrels and arguments
- jī鸡tóu头yú鱼cì刺trivial annoyance or inconvenience
- jī鸡shī尸niú牛cóng从Better to be a small leader than a large follower
- jī鸡qī栖fèng凤cháo巢unworthy person in high position
- jī鸡máo毛suàn蒜pí皮trivial matters
- jī鸡làn烂zuǐ嘴ba巴yìng硬argue stubbornly despite being wrong
- jī鸡quǎn犬bù不níng宁cause great disturbance and chaos
- jī鸡quǎn犬bù不ān安cause great disturbance and unrest
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Open the tool →Questions about 鸡虫得失
What does 鸡虫得失 mean?
鸡虫得失 (jī chóng dé shī) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “Fuss over trivial gains and losses”.
How do you pronounce 鸡虫得失?
鸡虫得失 is pronounced jī chóng dé shī in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 鸡虫得失 literally mean?
Literally, 鸡虫得失 means “Gains and losses between chickens and insects”. It is used to mean “Fuss over trivial gains and losses”.
Where does 鸡虫得失 come from?
鸡虫得失 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 鸡虫得失?
象鸡啄虫，人缚鸡那样的得失。比喻微小的得失，无关紧要。