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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
- 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
Characters in this entry
- 臨
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- 淵
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- 羨
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- 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
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- 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
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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 ↗