贪多嚼不烂 — “To take on too much at once and be unable to handle it effectively”
贪多嚼不烂 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to take on too much at once and be unable to handle it effectively”. Leading to poor results or failure to absorb new information. Literally, “Greedy for much but unable to chew it thoroughly”.
贪多嚼不烂 Pronunciation and Pinyin
贪多嚼不烂 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 贪多嚼不烂
Origin and Story of 贪多嚼不烂
When Jia Baoyu woke up and was about to go to school, Xiren helped him get ready. Baoyu playfully tried to cheer her up.
Xiren then advised him to study diligently, warning him that a lack of education would lead to a difficult life. She urged him to concentrate on his studies but cautioned against overworking himself.
She specifically told him not to be too ambitious with his schoolwork, explaining, 'Firstly, if you are greedy for too much, you won't be able to digest it properly' (贪多嚼不烂), and secondly, you might exhaust your body. Baoyu absentmindedly agreed.
Idioms Related to 贪多嚼不烂
Synonyms of 贪多嚼不烂
Antonyms of 贪多嚼不烂
More idioms starting with 贪
- tān贪wèi位qǔ取róng容covet position and curry favor
- tān贪wèi位mù慕lù禄greedy for power and wealth
- tān贪mào冒róng荣chǒng宠Covet glory and favor
- tān贪lì利wàng忘yì义greedy for profit, forgetting righteousness
- tān贪gōng功qǐ起xìn衅Provoke conflict for personal credit
- tān贪chī吃lǎn懒zuò做gluttonous and lazy
- tān贪míng名tú图lì利covet fame and pursue profit
- tān贪míng名ài爱lì利greedy for fame and gain
- tān贪míng名zhú逐lì利covet fame and pursue profit
- tān贪lì吏huá猾xū胥corrupt and cunning minor officials
- tān贪tú图ān安yì逸hanker after ease and comfort
- tān贪mò墨zhī之fēng风prevailing atmosphere of corruption and bribery
Recommended tools
Chinese Text Image Generator
Create PNGs with pinyin, highlight character parts or remove strokes
Open the tool →
Bingo Cards
Picture and word Bingo for your class
Open the tool →
Character Highlight Animator
Choose character parts and animate their colors, together or in stroke order
Open the tool →
Writing Worksheets
Printable tracing sheets with a QR learning companion
Open the tool →Questions about 贪多嚼不烂
What does 贪多嚼不烂 mean?
贪多嚼不烂 (tān duō jiáo bù làn) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to take on too much at once and be unable to handle it effectively”.
How do you pronounce 贪多嚼不烂?
贪多嚼不烂 is pronounced tān duō jiáo bù làn in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 贪多嚼不烂 literally mean?
Literally, 贪多嚼不烂 means “Greedy for much but unable to chew it thoroughly”. It is used to mean “to take on too much at once and be unable to handle it effectively”.
Where does 贪多嚼不烂 come from?
贪多嚼不烂 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 贪多嚼不烂?
贪图多吃，消化不了。比喻工作或学习，图多而做不好或吸收不了。