焚林竭泽 — “To burn the forest and drain the lake”
焚林竭泽 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to burn the forest and drain the lake”. To destroy resources for immediate gain; to be short-sighted and disregard long-term consequences. Literally, “burn forest, drain lake”.
Frequency
焚林竭泽 Pronunciation and Pinyin
焚林竭泽 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 焚林竭泽
如果为了眼前的经济效益而焚林竭泽，最终受害的还是我们自己。
If we burn the forest and drain the lake for immediate economic benefits, ultimately we will be the ones to suffer.
Idioms Related to 焚林竭泽
More idioms starting with 焚
- fén焚shū书kēng坑rú儒suppress dissent and thought
- fén焚diǎn典kēng坑rú儒burn books and bury scholars alive
- fén焚rú如zhī之huò祸calamity of burning
- fén焚shī尸yáng扬huī灰desire complete annihilation of an enemy
- fén焚cháo巢dǎo捣xué穴thoroughly destroy or eradicate
- fén焚cháo巢dàng荡xué穴utterly destroy or eliminate
- fén焚lín林zhī之qiú求destroying the forest to seek talent
- fén焚lín林ér而shòu狩destroy resources for immediate gain
- fén焚lín林ér而liè猎Sacrifice long-term for immediate gain
- fén焚lín林ér而tián田destroy resources for immediate gain
- fén焚lín林ér而tián田，，jié竭zé泽ér而yú渔exploit resources unsustainably
- fén焚lín林ér而tián畋destroy future for present gain
Recommended tools
Stroke Order Animator
Turn a Chinese character or sentence into a GIF or MP4
Open the tool →
Picture Worksheets
Chinese and English fill-in vocabulary worksheets
Open the tool →
Writing Worksheets
Printable tracing sheets with a QR learning companion
Open the tool →
Chinese Text Image Generator
Create PNGs with pinyin, highlight character parts or remove strokes
Open the tool →Questions about 焚林竭泽
What does 焚林竭泽 mean?
焚林竭泽 (fén lín jié zé) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to burn the forest and drain the lake”.
How do you pronounce 焚林竭泽?
焚林竭泽 is pronounced fén lín jié zé in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 焚林竭泽 literally mean?
Literally, 焚林竭泽 means “burn forest, drain lake”. It is used to mean “to burn the forest and drain the lake”.
What is the Chinese definition of 焚林竭泽?
焚林而田，竭泽而渔。比喻只图眼前利益。