亡羊得牛

Pronunciation: wáng yáng dé niú Literal meaning: Lose a sheep, gain an ox

Origin & Usage

From 《淮南子·说山训》: to lose a sheep and gain an ox is a loss no one would refuse. The phrase is the optimistic twin of the far better-known 亡羊补牢, and it makes a different argument — not that damage can be repaired, but that a loss can be the price of something larger, and that the accounting only makes sense once you can see both sides of it. It is a useful thing to say to someone still grieving the sheep, and a dangerous thing to say too early, before the ox has actually arrived.

Examples

English: "Losing the small account freed the team for the one that mattered."

Chinese: 这次调整看似损失，其实亡羊得牛。