覆巢之下無完卵
简 覆巢之下无完卵 · 繁 覆巢之下無完卵Meanings
- lit. when the nest is upset no egg is left intact (idiom)
- fig. when one falls in disgrace the whole family is doomed
Characters in this entry
- 覆
- fù · cover; tip over; return; reply
- 巢
- cháo · nest, living quarter in tree
- 之
- zhī · marks preceding phrase as modifier of following phrase; it, him her, them; go to
- 下
- xià · under, underneath, below; down; inferior; bring down
- 無
- Look up this written character
- 完
- wán · complete, finish, settle; whole
- 卵
- luǎn · egg; ovum; roe; spawn
- 无
- wú · negative, no, not; Kangxi radical 71
Explore the spelling
Mandarin tones
4–2–1–4–2–2–3 · fu4 chao2 zhi1 xia4 wu2 wan2 luan3
Compare attested words with these syllables ↗Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.
Connected dictionary
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.
覆巢之下無完卵 · find source passages ↗ · 覆巢之下无完卵 · find source passages ↗
Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading
Rime Cantonese 粵拼
fuk1 caau4 zi1 haa6 mou4 jyun4 leon2
Cantonese word readings for 覆巢之下無完卵. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.
CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack
Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section
Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.
proverb
- No individual can escape from the calamity its group is suffering.
Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history
Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack