yàn què ān zhī hóng hú zhī zhì

Traditional: 燕雀安知鴻鵠之志

燕雀安知鸿鹄之志 (yàn què ān zhī hóng hú zhī zhì) is a Chinese word meaning “lit. can the sparrow and swallow know the will of the great swan? (idiom); fig. how can we small fry predict the ambitions of the great?”.

Meanings

  1. 1lit. can the sparrow and swallow know the will of the great swan? (idiom)
  2. 2fig. how can we small fry predict the ambitions of the great?

Characters in 燕雀安知鸿鹄之志

燕yàn · swallow (family Hirundinidae)雀qiāo · a freckle安ān · (bound form) calm; peaceful知zhī · to know鸿hóng · eastern bean goose鹄gǔ · center or bull's eye of an archery target (old)之zhī · (possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的[de5])志zhì · aspiration

Related words

知道to know; to become aware of之(possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的[de5])之前before之后after; behind安全safe; secure之间(after a noun) between; among; amid晚安Good night!安排to arrange知to know安静quiet之一one of (sth)通知to notify

Study Chinese with flashcards →