鱼与熊掌不可兼得

Traditional: 魚與熊掌不可兼得

yú yǔ xióng zhǎng bù kě jiān dé

Dictionary entry

lit. the fish and the bear's paw, you can't have both at the same time (idiom, from Mencius); fig. you must choose one or the other

What does 鱼与熊掌不可兼得 mean?

鱼与熊掌不可兼得 (yú yǔ xióng zhǎng bù kě jiān dé) has the following dictionary meaning.

1lit. the fish and the bear's paw, you can't have both at the same time (idiom, from Mencius); fig. you must choose one or the other

2you can't always get everything you want

3you can't have your cake and eat it

Character breakdown

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鱼Yúsurname Yu 与yúvariant of 歟|欤[yu2]熊Xióngsurname Xiong 掌zhǎngpalm of the hand · sole of the foot 不bùno; not so · (bound form) not; un-可kě(prefix) can; may; able to; -able · to approve; to permit 兼jiāndouble · twice 得déto obtain · to get

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How to pronounce 鱼与熊掌不可兼得

鱼与熊掌不可兼得

yú yǔ xióng zhǎng bù kě jiān dé

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Base dictionary data: CC-CEDICT · CC BY-SA 4.0.