8 Chinese Idioms About Greed & Excess
Cautionary Chinese idioms about greed, excess, and the dangers of always wanting more.
Chinese wisdom strongly warns against greed and excess. These idioms describe the many faces of avarice and its inevitable consequences - from never being satisfied to losing everything.
好逸恶劳
hào yì wù láoLove ease, hate work
Literal: Love ease hate work
This idiom describes the human tendency to love (好) ease (逸) and hate (恶) work (劳). First appearing in pre-Qin philosophical texts, it was used by Mencius to warn against the natural but problematic inclination toward comfort over effort. The phrase gained particular significance during the Song Dyn...
Example
The team's productivity suffered from members who avoided challenging tasks
团队中有人喜欢偷懒避难，影响了工作效率
近水楼台
jìn shuǐ lóu táiAdvantage from close connections
Literal: Pavilion close to water
First appearing in Tang Dynasty poetry, this idiom describes pavilions (楼台) close (近) to water (水), referring to their advantageous position to catch the moon's reflection first. The phrase gained wider usage during the Song Dynasty as a metaphor for privileged access or favorable positioning. Origi...
Example
Living in the city gave her more career opportunities
住在城市给了她更多的职业机会
偷梁换柱
tōu liáng huàn zhùDeceive by substitution
Literal: Steal beam swap pillar
This idiom refers to the cunning act of stealing (偷) beams (梁) and swapping (换) pillars (柱), derived from a Warring States period tale of architectural deception. The story involves a craftsman who gradually replaced a building's support structure while maintaining its appearance, ultimately comprom...
Example
The investigation revealed that key data had been subtly altered
调查显示关键数据被巧妙地篡改了
一叶障目
yī yè zhàng mùMiss big picture
Literal: Leaf blocks eye
This idiom illustrates how a single (一) leaf (叶) can block (障) one's vision/eyes (目). Emerging from Buddhist texts warning against limited perspective, it gained prominence during the Song Dynasty's Neo-Confucian movement. The deceptively simple image of a leaf blocking an entire view became a power...
Example
The team got lost in technical details and forgot the project's main goal
团队陷入技术细节而忘记了项目的主要目标
借花献佛
jiè huā xiàn fóUse others' resources
Literal: Borrow flower offer Buddha
This Buddhist-influenced idiom describes borrowing flowers (花) to offer (献) to Buddha (佛), originating from Tang Dynasty temple practices where worshippers would sometimes borrow flowers from temple gardens for their offerings. The practice sparked philosophical discussions about the nature of since...
Example
He took credit for the team's work during the presentation
他在演示中把团队的工作据为己有
自相矛盾
zì xiāng máo dùnContradict oneself
Literal: Spear shield contradict self
This idiom originates from a famous logical paradox in the Han Feizi, where a merchant claimed to have a spear (矛) that could pierce anything and a shield (盾) that could block anything - creating a self (自) contradicting (相) claim. The story became a classic example in Chinese logical discourse, use...
Example
The policy's conflicting requirements made implementation impossible
政策中相互矛盾的要求使得实施变得不可能
出类拔萃
chū lèi bá cuìExcellence that outshines all others
Literal: Rise above the crowd
This distinguished idiom describes emerging (出) from a category (类) and rising above (拔) the crowd (萃), originating from the Book of Later Han. It first described officials whose exceptional talents distinguished them from colleagues. The agricultural metaphor suggests a plant growing noticeably tal...
Example
Her research paper was clearly superior to all others submitted to the conference
她的研究论文明显优于提交给会议的所有其他论文
不相上下
bù xiāng shàng xiàEvenly matched with neither superior
Literal: Not mutually up down
Han Dynasty military strategists developed this elegant phrase to describe forces without (不) mutual (相) superiority or inferiority (上下). Initially used for armies whose different strengths created overall parity, Tang Dynasty writers expanded it to compare everything from scholarly works to artisti...
Example
The two championship finalists were so evenly matched that predicting a winner was impossible
两位冠军决赛选手势均力敌，无法预测谁会获胜
Quick Reference
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