How do you pronounce 守株待兔?

守株待兔 is pronounced as "shǒu zhū dài tù" in Mandarin Chinese.

守株待兔

Q: What does 守株待兔 mean?

守株待兔 (shǒu zhū dài tù) literally means "Guard the stump, wait for a rabbit" and metaphorically means "Wait passively for luck". It belongs to the Life Philosophy category of Chinese idioms.

Q: When is 守株待兔 used?

守株待兔 is used when Instead of developing new skills, he just waited for promotions to come.

守株待兔 (shǒu zhū dài tù) literally means “guard the stump, wait for a rabbit” and expresses “wait passively for luck”. This idiom is used when describing situations involving life philosophy.

Also searched as: shou zhu dai tu, shou zhu dai tu,守株待兔 meaning, 守株待兔 in english

Wait passively for luck

Pronunciation: shǒu zhū dài tù Literal meaning: Guard the stump, wait for a rabbit

Origin & Usage

This Warring States period parable tells of a farmer who, after seeing a rabbit die by running into a tree stump (株), waited (待) endlessly for more rabbits (兔) at the same spot. His guard (守) of the stump became a classic example of misguided persistence and inflexible thinking. The story appeared in various philosophical texts as a warning against relying on chance success rather than adaptable strategy. Today, it cautions against rigid methodologies and the failure to evolve strategies with changing circumstances.

Examples

English: "Instead of developing new skills, he just waited for promotions to come"

Chinese: 他没有提升技能，只是等待升职机会

Related Chinese Idioms

Similar idioms about life philosophy

狐假虎威

hú jiǎ hǔ wēi

Borrow authority to intimidate

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对牛弹琴

duì niú tán qín

Present to wrong audience

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井底之蛙

jǐng dǐ zhī wā

Narrow-minded from limited experience

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黔驴技穷

qián lǘ jì qióng

Run out of tricks

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两虎相争

liǎng hǔ xiāng zhēng

Fierce competition between equals

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杯弓蛇影

bēi gōng shé yǐng

Needlessly suspicious

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指鹿为马

zhǐ lù wéi mǎ

Deliberately distort truth as power display

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人山人海

rén shān rén hǎi

Vast crowds of people

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Frequently Asked Questions

What does 守株待兔 mean in English?

守株待兔 (shǒu zhū dài tù) literally translates to “Guard the stump, wait for a rabbit” and is used to express “Wait passively for luck”. This Chinese idiom belongs to the Life Philosophy category.