蝇营狗苟 — “To shamelessly scramble for personal gain or advantage by any means”

蝇营狗苟 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to shamelessly scramble for personal gain or advantage by any means”. To fawn and scheme like flies swarming or dogs scrambling for scraps. Literally, “Flies buzzing, dogs groveling”.

Frequency

蝇营狗苟 Pronunciation and Pinyin

蝇营狗苟 Character Breakdown

Stroke Order

Character	Pinyin	Strokes	Meaning
蝇	yíng	14	housefly
营	yíng	13	camp, manage, operate
狗	gǒu	8	dog
苟	gǒu	9	barely manage or if

Example Sentence with 蝇营狗苟

他为了能在这个项目中获得更多份额，不惜蝇营狗苟，讨好所有上级。

To gain a larger share in this project, he didn't hesitate to stoop to any means, flattering all his superiors.

Origin and Story of 蝇营狗苟

During the Tang Dynasty, officialdom was rife with corruption, with officials exploiting each other layer by layer. The common people deeply resented this but dared not speak out.

People called those despicable individuals who engaged in bribery, fraud, and competed for petty gains "蝇营" (flies swarming), finding them utterly detestable.

Han Yu, a prominent writer of the time, also disapproved of this phenomenon. In his essay "Farewell to Poverty" (送穷文), he wrote: "Regretting their actions in the morning, they repeat them by evening; swarming like flies, groveling like dogs, driven away only to return." This phrase "蝇营狗苟" (flies buzzing, dogs groveling) thus came to describe those who unscrupulously pursue personal gain without shame.