10 Chinese Idioms About Danger & Risk

Borrow authority to intimidate

Literal meaning: Fox uses tiger's power

This idiom emerged from a Warring States period fable where a fox (狐) borrowed (假) the authority (威) of a tiger (虎) to intimidate other animals. The story first appeared in the Zhan Guo Ce, using the clever fox and powerful tiger to criticize political parasites who derived their influence from powe...

Overly fearful and suspicious

Literal meaning: Wind sound crane call

Dating back to the Jin Dynasty (265-420 CE), this idiom emerged from the aftermath of the Battle of Fei River. The defeated army became so paranoid that they mistook every wind (风) sound (声) and crane's (鹤) cry (唳) for enemy movements. The image draws from the watchful nature of cranes, known in Chi...

Have clear plan beforehand

Literal meaning: Bamboo ready in heart

This idiom originated from Southern Song Dynasty painter Wen Yuke's approach to bamboo painting. Before touching brush to paper, he would completely visualize the bamboo (竹) in his heart/mind (胸), ensuring it was fully formed (成) in his imagination. The practice exemplified the Chinese artistic prin...

Ruin by adding extras

Literal meaning: Draw snake add feet

The ancient parable tells of an artist who lost a wine-drinking contest because he spent extra time adding legs to his snake drawing (画蛇添足). The story entered common usage during the Han Dynasty as a warning against ruining sufficiency through unnecessary additions. Today it reminds us how overelabo...

Repeated lie becomes truth

Literal meaning: Three people make tiger real

This idiom originates from the Wei state minister Pang Cong's warning to his king about how three (三) people's (人) repeated lies can make even an absurd claim - like a tiger (虎) loose in the marketplace - seem true (成). The story, recorded in Warring States texts, demonstrates how repeated rumors ca...

Needlessly suspicious

Literal meaning: Bow in cup snake shadow

This tale from the Jin Dynasty chronicles a scholar who saw a bow's (弓) reflection in his cup (杯), mistaking it for a snake (蛇) shadow (影). His subsequent illness from fear only subsided when he discovered the truth. First recorded in 'Jin Shu', the story resonated with Buddhist teachings about how ...

Courage under pressure

Literal meaning: Face danger without fear

This idiom describes facing (临) danger (危) without (不) fear (惧), originating from accounts of general Yue Fei's courage during the Southern Song Dynasty. Historical chronicles record how Yue maintained composure under extreme battlefield conditions, inspiring his troops to victory against superior f...

Worry needlessly about impossible disasters

Literal meaning: Qi person worries sky

This anxious idiom references a person from Qi (杞人) who worried (忧) about the sky (天) falling, originating from the philosophical text 'Liezi' during the Warring States period. It tells of a man so concerned about the sky collapsing, the earth cracking, and himself falling into the abyss that he cou...

Extreme paranoia sees threats everywhere

Literal meaning: Grass trees all soldiers

This psychological idiom describes seeing grass (草) and trees (木) all (皆) as soldiers (兵), originating from the Three Kingdoms period where a defeated general became so fearful during retreat that rustling vegetation appeared as enemy troops. The phrase gained broader usage during the Tang Dynasty, ...

Rush eagerly to be first, not last

Literal meaning: Compete first fear last

The competitive atmosphere of the Han Dynasty imperial court gave birth to this phrase describing the twin drives of striving to be first (争先) while fearing to be last (恐后). Court historians noted how this combination of ambition and anxiety drove official behavior. Tang Dynasty observers saw the sa...