燕雀安知鸿鹄之志
Traditional: 燕雀安知鴻鵠之志Dictionary entry
lit. can the sparrow and swallow know the will of the great swan? (idiom)
What does 燕雀安知鸿鹄之志 mean?
燕雀安知鸿鹄之志 (yàn què ān zhī hóng hú zhī zhì) has the following dictionary meaning.
1lit. can the sparrow and swallow know the will of the great swan? (idiom)
2fig. how can we small fry predict the ambitions of the great?
Character breakdown
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燕YānYan, a vassal state of Zhou in present-day Hebei and Liaoning · north Hebei雀qiāoa freckle · lentigo安Ānsurname An知zhīto know · to be aware鸿hóngeastern bean goose · great鹄gǔcenter or bull's eye of an archery target (old) · goal之zhī(possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的[de5]) · him志zhìaspiration · ambition
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How to pronounce 燕雀安知鸿鹄之志
燕雀安知鸿鹄之志
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Base dictionary data: CC-CEDICT · CC BY-SA 4.0.