Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word
揠苗助長. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
揠苗助長, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
揠苗助長 in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
揠苗助長 you have here. The definition of the word
揠苗助長 will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
揠苗助長, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
Chinese
|
|
eradicate; pull up
|
sprout; seedling; descendant sprout; seedling; descendant; symptom of a trend; young; vaccine; Miao tribe |
|
| trad. (揠苗助長)
|
揠
|
苗
|
助長
|
| simp. (揠苗助长)
|
揠
|
苗
|
助长
|
Etymology
From Mencius (《孟子·公孫丑上》):
宋人有閔其苗之不長而揠之者，芒芒然歸。謂其人曰：「今日病矣，予助苗長矣。」其子趨而往視之，苗則槁矣。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
宋人有闵其苗之不长而揠之者，芒芒然归。谓其人曰：「今日病矣，予助苗长矣。」其子趋而往视之，苗则槁矣。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]- From: Mencius, c. 4th century BCE, translated based on James Legge's version
- Sòng rén yǒu mǐn qí miáo zhī bù zhǎng ér yà zhī zhě, mángmángrán guī. Wèi qí rén yuē: “Jīnrì bìng yǐ, yú zhù miáo zhǎng yǐ.” Qí zǐ qū ér wǎng shì zhī, miáo zé gǎo yǐ.
- There was a man of Song, who was grieved that his growing corn was not longer, and so he pulled it up. Having done this, he returned home, looking very troubled, and said to his people, “I am tired today. I have been helping the corn to grow long.” His son ran to look at it, and found the corn all withered.
Pronunciation
Idiom
揠苗助長
- (figurative) to be hasty and use inappropriate methods in order to achieve a goal quickly, but by doing so ruin things instead and fail in the end
Synonyms