臨淵羨魚,不如退而結網

简 临渊羡鱼,不如退而结网 · 繁 臨淵羨魚,不如退而結網
Mandarin · pinyin lín yuān xiàn yú , bù rú tuì ér jié wǎng

Meanings

  1. better to go home and weave a net than to stand by the pond longing for fish (idiom)
  2. one should take practical steps to achieve one's aim
Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

臨
Look up this written character
淵
Look up this written character
羨
Look up this written character
魚
yú · fish; surname; Kangxi radical 195
不
bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
如
rú · if, supposing; as if; like, as
退
tuì · step back, retreat, withdraw
而
ér · and; and then; and yet; but; Kangxi radical 126
結
jié · knot, tie; join, connect
網
Look up this written character
临
lín · draw near, approach; descend
渊
yuān · surge up, bubble up, gush forth
羡
xiàn · envy, admire; praise; covet
鱼
yú · fish; surname; Kangxi radical 195
结
jié · knot, tie; join, connect
网
wǎng · net; network; Kangxi radical 122
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

Explore the spelling

Connected dictionary

12character links
Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗
Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

臨淵羨魚,不如退而結網 · find source passages ↗ · 临渊羡鱼,不如退而结网 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

臨淵羨魚,不如退而結網 · lin2 yuan1 xian4 yu2 , bu4 ru2 tui4 er2 jie2 wang3
CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG · edition 2026-10-13 · source line 91,671
Original dictionary · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source & transformation details
Exact source record臨淵羨魚,不如退而結網 临渊羡鱼,不如退而结网 [lin2 yuan1 xian4 yu2 , bu4 ru2 tui4 er2 jie2 wang3] /better to go home and weave a net than to stand by the pond longing for fish (idiom)/one should take practical steps to achieve one's aim/