危如累卵
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Chinese[edit]
danger; to endanger | as (if); such as | delicate balancing act | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
trad. (危如累卵) | 危 | 如 | 累卵 | |
simp. #(危如累卵) | 危 | 如 | 累卵 | |
Literally: “as precarious as a vertical pile of eggs”. |
Etymology[edit]
From Han Feizi, Chapter 10 (《韓非子·十過》):
- 故曹小國也。而迫於晉、楚之間。其君之危猶累卵也。而以無禮蒞之。此所以絕世也。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
- From: Han Feizi, circa 2nd century BCE, translated based on W. K. Liao's version
- Gù Cáo xiǎoguó yě. Ér pò yú Jìn, Chǔ zhī jiān. Qí jūn zhī wēi yóu lěi luǎn yě. Ér yǐ wúlǐ lì zhī. Cǐ suǒyǐ juéshì yě. [Pinyin]
- Thus, Cao was a small state pressed between Jin and Chu. Its ruler was in constant danger as piled eggs are, but he accorded the Prince of Qin such a discourteous reception. This was the reason why his posterity was wiped out.
故曹小国也。而迫于晋、楚之间。其君之危犹累卵也。而以无礼莅之。此所以绝世也。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
Pronunciation[edit]
Idiom[edit]
危如累卵
- extremely dangerous; extremely precarious
Synonyms[edit]
Categories:
- Literary Chinese terms with quotations
- Mandarin terms with multiple pronunciations
- Chinese lemmas
- Mandarin lemmas
- Cantonese lemmas
- Chinese four-character idioms
- Mandarin four-character idioms
- Cantonese four-character idioms
- Chinese idioms
- Mandarin idioms
- Cantonese idioms
- Chinese terms with IPA pronunciation
- Chinese four-character idioms derived from the Han Feizi