"寧為雞口,無為牛後" meaning in All languages combined

See 寧為雞口,無為牛後 on Wiktionary

Proverb [Chinese]

IPA: /niŋ³⁵ weɪ̯³⁵ t͡ɕi⁵⁵ kʰoʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ u³⁵ weɪ̯³⁵ ni̯oʊ̯³⁵ xoʊ̯⁵¹/ [Mandarin, Sinological-IPA], /niŋ³⁵ weɪ̯³⁵ t͡ɕi⁵⁵ kʰoʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ u³⁵ weɪ̯³⁵ ni̯oʊ̯³⁵ xoʊ̯⁵¹/ Chinese transliterations: níng wéi jīkǒu [Mandarin, Pinyin], wú wéi níuhòu [Mandarin, Pinyin], ㄋㄧㄥˊ ㄨㄟˊ ㄐㄧ ㄎㄡˇ [Mandarin, bopomofo], ㄨˊ ㄨㄟˊ ㄋㄧㄡˊ ㄏㄡˋ [Mandarin, bopomofo], níng wéi jīkǒu [Hanyu-Pinyin, Mandarin], wú wéi níuhòu [Hanyu-Pinyin, Mandarin], níng wéi jikǒu [Mandarin, Tongyong-Pinyin], wú wéi nióuhòu [Mandarin, Tongyong-Pinyin], ning² wei² chi¹-kʻou³ [Mandarin, Wade-Giles], wu² wei² niu²-hou⁴ [Mandarin, Wade-Giles], níng wéi jī-kǒu- [Mandarin, Yale], wú wéi nyóu-hòu [Mandarin, Yale], ning wei jikoou [Gwoyeu-Romatsyh, Mandarin], wu wei niouhow [Gwoyeu-Romatsyh, Mandarin], нин вэй цзикоу [Mandarin, Palladius], у вэй нюхоу [Mandarin, Palladius], nin vɛj czikou [Mandarin, Palladius], u vɛj njuxou [Mandarin, Palladius]
Etymology: Quoted from Su Qin's speech to King Xuanhui of Han, persuading him to unite with other states to fight against Qin: 臣聞鄙語曰:「寧為雞口,無為牛後」。今大王西面交臂而臣事秦,何以異於牛後乎? [Classical Chinese, trad.]臣闻鄙语曰:「宁为鸡口,无为牛后」。今大王西面交臂而臣事秦,何以异于牛后乎? [Classical Chinese, simp.] From: Zhanguo Ce, circa 5ᵗʰ – 3ʳᵈ centuries BCE Chén wén bǐyǔ yuē: “Níng wèi jī kǒu, wú wèi niú hòu”. Jīn dàwáng xīmiàn jiāobì ér chénshì qín, héyǐ yì yú niú hòu hū? [Pinyin] (Su Qin said,) “I have heard that there is a saying that ‘it is better to be the beak of a chicken than the arse of an ox’. Now if Your Majesty would like to bow to the west and submit to Qin, that is no difference with being an ox's arse, isn't it?” Etymology templates: {{zh-x|臣 聞 鄙語 曰 : 「 @寧 @為 @雞 @口 , @無 @為 @牛 @後 」 。 今 大王 西面 交臂 而 臣事 秦 , 何以 異 於 牛 後 乎 ?|(Su Qin said,) “I have heard that there is a saying that ‘it is better to be the beak of a chicken than the arse of an ox’. Now if Your Majesty would like to bow to the west and submit to Qin, that is no difference with being an ox's arse, isn't it?”|collapsed=yes|ref=Zhanguoce}} 臣聞鄙語曰:「寧為雞口,無為牛後」。今大王西面交臂而臣事秦,何以異於牛後乎? [Classical Chinese, trad.]臣闻鄙语曰:「宁为鸡口,无为牛后」。今大王西面交臂而臣事秦,何以异于牛后乎? [Classical Chinese, simp.] From: Zhanguo Ce, circa 5ᵗʰ – 3ʳᵈ centuries BCE Chén wén bǐyǔ yuē: “Níng wèi jī kǒu, wú wèi niú hòu”. Jīn dàwáng xīmiàn jiāobì ér chénshì qín, héyǐ yì yú niú hòu hū? [Pinyin] (Su Qin said,) “I have heard that there is a saying that ‘it is better to be the beak of a chicken than the arse of an ox’. Now if Your Majesty would like to bow to the west and submit to Qin, that is no difference with being an ox's arse, isn't it?” Head templates: {{head|zh|proverb}} 寧為雞口,無為牛後
  1. (figurative) It is better to be a big fish in a small pond than a small fish in a big pond. Wikipedia link: King Xuanhui of Han, Qin (state), Su Qin Tags: figuratively Synonyms: 雞口牛後/鸡口牛后 (jīkǒuníuhòu), 雞口牛後 (jīkǒuníuhòu), 鸡口牛后 (jīkǒuníuhòu) Related terms: 寧為雞頭,不做鳳尾/宁为鸡头,不做凤尾 (nìng wéi jītóu, bù zuò fèngwěi)
    Sense id: en-寧為雞口,無為牛後-zh-proverb-Fx4Ku2~E Categories (other): Chinese entries with incorrect language header, Chinese proverbs, Mandarin proverbs

Download JSON data for 寧為雞口,無為牛後 meaning in All languages combined (6.0kB)

{
  "descendants": [
    {
      "depth": 1,
      "templates": [
        {
          "args": {
            "1": "ja",
            "2": "",
            "bor": "1"
          },
          "expansion": "→ Japanese:",
          "name": "desc"
        },
        {
          "args": {
            "1": "鶏口となるも牛後となるなかれ",
            "2": "けいこう となるも ぎゅうご となるなかれ"
          },
          "expansion": "鶏口(けいこう)となるも牛後(ぎゅうご)となるなかれ (keikō tonarumo gyūgo tonarunakare)",
          "name": "ja-r"
        },
        {
          "args": {
            "1": "calque"
          },
          "expansion": "(calque)",
          "name": "q"
        }
      ],
      "text": "→ Japanese: 鶏口(けいこう)となるも牛後(ぎゅうご)となるなかれ (keikō tonarumo gyūgo tonarunakare) (calque)"
    },
    {
      "depth": 1,
      "templates": [
        {
          "args": {
            "1": "vi",
            "2": "Thà làm đầu gà, hơn làm đuôi trâu",
            "bor": "1"
          },
          "expansion": "→ Vietnamese: Thà làm đầu gà, hơn làm đuôi trâu",
          "name": "desc"
        },
        {
          "args": {
            "1": "calque"
          },
          "expansion": "(calque)",
          "name": "q"
        }
      ],
      "text": "→ Vietnamese: Thà làm đầu gà, hơn làm đuôi trâu (calque)"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "臣 聞 鄙語 曰 : 「 @寧 @為 @雞 @口 , @無 @為 @牛 @後 」 。 今 大王 西面 交臂 而 臣事 秦 , 何以 異 於 牛 後 乎 ?",
        "2": "(Su Qin said,) “I have heard that there is a saying that ‘it is better to be the beak of a chicken than the arse of an ox’. Now if Your Majesty would like to bow to the west and submit to Qin, that is no difference with being an ox's arse, isn't it?”",
        "collapsed": "yes",
        "ref": "Zhanguoce"
      },
      "expansion": "臣聞鄙語曰:「寧為雞口,無為牛後」。今大王西面交臂而臣事秦,何以異於牛後乎? [Classical Chinese, trad.]臣闻鄙语曰:「宁为鸡口,无为牛后」。今大王西面交臂而臣事秦,何以异于牛后乎? [Classical Chinese, simp.]\nFrom: Zhanguo Ce, circa 5ᵗʰ – 3ʳᵈ centuries BCE\nChén wén bǐyǔ yuē: “Níng wèi jī kǒu, wú wèi niú hòu”. Jīn dàwáng xīmiàn jiāobì ér chénshì qín, héyǐ yì yú niú hòu hū? [Pinyin]\n(Su Qin said,) “I have heard that there is a saying that ‘it is better to be the beak of a chicken than the arse of an ox’. Now if Your Majesty would like to bow to the west and submit to Qin, that is no difference with being an ox's arse, isn't it?”",
      "name": "zh-x"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Quoted from Su Qin's speech to King Xuanhui of Han, persuading him to unite with other states to fight against Qin:\n臣聞鄙語曰:「寧為雞口,無為牛後」。今大王西面交臂而臣事秦,何以異於牛後乎? [Classical Chinese, trad.]臣闻鄙语曰:「宁为鸡口,无为牛后」。今大王西面交臂而臣事秦,何以异于牛后乎? [Classical Chinese, simp.]\nFrom: Zhanguo Ce, circa 5ᵗʰ – 3ʳᵈ centuries BCE\nChén wén bǐyǔ yuē: “Níng wèi jī kǒu, wú wèi niú hòu”. Jīn dàwáng xīmiàn jiāobì ér chénshì qín, héyǐ yì yú niú hòu hū? [Pinyin]\n(Su Qin said,) “I have heard that there is a saying that ‘it is better to be the beak of a chicken than the arse of an ox’. Now if Your Majesty would like to bow to the west and submit to Qin, that is no difference with being an ox's arse, isn't it?”",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "zh",
        "2": "proverb"
      },
      "expansion": "寧為雞口,無為牛後",
      "name": "head"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "Chinese",
  "lang_code": "zh",
  "pos": "proverb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Chinese entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Chinese proverbs",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Mandarin proverbs",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "It is better to be a big fish in a small pond than a small fish in a big pond."
      ],
      "id": "en-寧為雞口,無為牛後-zh-proverb-Fx4Ku2~E",
      "links": [
        [
          "big fish in a small pond",
          "big fish in a small pond"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(figurative) It is better to be a big fish in a small pond than a small fish in a big pond."
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "roman": "nìng wéi jītóu, bù zuò fèngwěi",
          "word": "寧為雞頭,不做鳳尾/宁为鸡头,不做凤尾"
        }
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "roman": "jīkǒuníuhòu",
          "word": "雞口牛後/鸡口牛后"
        },
        {
          "roman": "jīkǒuníuhòu",
          "word": "雞口牛後"
        },
        {
          "roman": "jīkǒuníuhòu",
          "word": "鸡口牛后"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "figuratively"
      ],
      "wikipedia": [
        "King Xuanhui of Han",
        "Qin (state)",
        "Su Qin"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Pinyin"
      ],
      "zh-pron": "níng wéi jīkǒu"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Pinyin"
      ],
      "zh-pron": "wú wéi níuhòu"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "bopomofo"
      ],
      "zh-pron": "ㄋㄧㄥˊ ㄨㄟˊ ㄐㄧ ㄎㄡˇ"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "bopomofo"
      ],
      "zh-pron": "ㄨˊ ㄨㄟˊ ㄋㄧㄡˊ ㄏㄡˋ"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Hanyu-Pinyin",
        "Mandarin"
      ],
      "zh-pron": "níng wéi jīkǒu"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Hanyu-Pinyin",
        "Mandarin"
      ],
      "zh-pron": "wú wéi níuhòu"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Tongyong-Pinyin"
      ],
      "zh-pron": "níng wéi jikǒu"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Tongyong-Pinyin"
      ],
      "zh-pron": "wú wéi nióuhòu"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Wade-Giles"
      ],
      "zh-pron": "ning² wei² chi¹-kʻou³"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Wade-Giles"
      ],
      "zh-pron": "wu² wei² niu²-hou⁴"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Yale"
      ],
      "zh-pron": "níng wéi jī-kǒu-"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Yale"
      ],
      "zh-pron": "wú wéi nyóu-hòu"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Gwoyeu-Romatsyh",
        "Mandarin"
      ],
      "zh-pron": "ning wei jikoou"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Gwoyeu-Romatsyh",
        "Mandarin"
      ],
      "zh-pron": "wu wei niouhow"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Palladius"
      ],
      "zh-pron": "нин вэй цзикоу"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Palladius"
      ],
      "zh-pron": "у вэй нюхоу"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Palladius"
      ],
      "zh-pron": "nin vɛj czikou"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Palladius"
      ],
      "zh-pron": "u vɛj njuxou"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/niŋ³⁵ weɪ̯³⁵ t͡ɕi⁵⁵ kʰoʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ u³⁵ weɪ̯³⁵ ni̯oʊ̯³⁵ xoʊ̯⁵¹/",
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Sinological-IPA"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/niŋ³⁵ weɪ̯³⁵ t͡ɕi⁵⁵ kʰoʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ u³⁵ weɪ̯³⁵ ni̯oʊ̯³⁵ xoʊ̯⁵¹/"
    }
  ],
  "word": "寧為雞口,無為牛後"
}
{
  "descendants": [
    {
      "depth": 1,
      "templates": [
        {
          "args": {
            "1": "ja",
            "2": "",
            "bor": "1"
          },
          "expansion": "→ Japanese:",
          "name": "desc"
        },
        {
          "args": {
            "1": "鶏口となるも牛後となるなかれ",
            "2": "けいこう となるも ぎゅうご となるなかれ"
          },
          "expansion": "鶏口(けいこう)となるも牛後(ぎゅうご)となるなかれ (keikō tonarumo gyūgo tonarunakare)",
          "name": "ja-r"
        },
        {
          "args": {
            "1": "calque"
          },
          "expansion": "(calque)",
          "name": "q"
        }
      ],
      "text": "→ Japanese: 鶏口(けいこう)となるも牛後(ぎゅうご)となるなかれ (keikō tonarumo gyūgo tonarunakare) (calque)"
    },
    {
      "depth": 1,
      "templates": [
        {
          "args": {
            "1": "vi",
            "2": "Thà làm đầu gà, hơn làm đuôi trâu",
            "bor": "1"
          },
          "expansion": "→ Vietnamese: Thà làm đầu gà, hơn làm đuôi trâu",
          "name": "desc"
        },
        {
          "args": {
            "1": "calque"
          },
          "expansion": "(calque)",
          "name": "q"
        }
      ],
      "text": "→ Vietnamese: Thà làm đầu gà, hơn làm đuôi trâu (calque)"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "臣 聞 鄙語 曰 : 「 @寧 @為 @雞 @口 , @無 @為 @牛 @後 」 。 今 大王 西面 交臂 而 臣事 秦 , 何以 異 於 牛 後 乎 ?",
        "2": "(Su Qin said,) “I have heard that there is a saying that ‘it is better to be the beak of a chicken than the arse of an ox’. Now if Your Majesty would like to bow to the west and submit to Qin, that is no difference with being an ox's arse, isn't it?”",
        "collapsed": "yes",
        "ref": "Zhanguoce"
      },
      "expansion": "臣聞鄙語曰:「寧為雞口,無為牛後」。今大王西面交臂而臣事秦,何以異於牛後乎? [Classical Chinese, trad.]臣闻鄙语曰:「宁为鸡口,无为牛后」。今大王西面交臂而臣事秦,何以异于牛后乎? [Classical Chinese, simp.]\nFrom: Zhanguo Ce, circa 5ᵗʰ – 3ʳᵈ centuries BCE\nChén wén bǐyǔ yuē: “Níng wèi jī kǒu, wú wèi niú hòu”. Jīn dàwáng xīmiàn jiāobì ér chénshì qín, héyǐ yì yú niú hòu hū? [Pinyin]\n(Su Qin said,) “I have heard that there is a saying that ‘it is better to be the beak of a chicken than the arse of an ox’. Now if Your Majesty would like to bow to the west and submit to Qin, that is no difference with being an ox's arse, isn't it?”",
      "name": "zh-x"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Quoted from Su Qin's speech to King Xuanhui of Han, persuading him to unite with other states to fight against Qin:\n臣聞鄙語曰:「寧為雞口,無為牛後」。今大王西面交臂而臣事秦,何以異於牛後乎? [Classical Chinese, trad.]臣闻鄙语曰:「宁为鸡口,无为牛后」。今大王西面交臂而臣事秦,何以异于牛后乎? [Classical Chinese, simp.]\nFrom: Zhanguo Ce, circa 5ᵗʰ – 3ʳᵈ centuries BCE\nChén wén bǐyǔ yuē: “Níng wèi jī kǒu, wú wèi niú hòu”. Jīn dàwáng xīmiàn jiāobì ér chénshì qín, héyǐ yì yú niú hòu hū? [Pinyin]\n(Su Qin said,) “I have heard that there is a saying that ‘it is better to be the beak of a chicken than the arse of an ox’. Now if Your Majesty would like to bow to the west and submit to Qin, that is no difference with being an ox's arse, isn't it?”",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "zh",
        "2": "proverb"
      },
      "expansion": "寧為雞口,無為牛後",
      "name": "head"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "Chinese",
  "lang_code": "zh",
  "pos": "proverb",
  "related": [
    {
      "roman": "nìng wéi jītóu, bù zuò fèngwěi",
      "word": "寧為雞頭,不做鳳尾/宁为鸡头,不做凤尾"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "Chinese entries with incorrect language header",
        "Chinese lemmas",
        "Chinese proverbs",
        "Chinese terms with IPA pronunciation",
        "Literary Chinese terms with quotations",
        "Mandarin lemmas",
        "Mandarin proverbs"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "It is better to be a big fish in a small pond than a small fish in a big pond."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "big fish in a small pond",
          "big fish in a small pond"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(figurative) It is better to be a big fish in a small pond than a small fish in a big pond."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "figuratively"
      ],
      "wikipedia": [
        "King Xuanhui of Han",
        "Qin (state)",
        "Su Qin"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Pinyin"
      ],
      "zh-pron": "níng wéi jīkǒu"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Pinyin"
      ],
      "zh-pron": "wú wéi níuhòu"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "bopomofo"
      ],
      "zh-pron": "ㄋㄧㄥˊ ㄨㄟˊ ㄐㄧ ㄎㄡˇ"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "bopomofo"
      ],
      "zh-pron": "ㄨˊ ㄨㄟˊ ㄋㄧㄡˊ ㄏㄡˋ"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Hanyu-Pinyin",
        "Mandarin"
      ],
      "zh-pron": "níng wéi jīkǒu"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Hanyu-Pinyin",
        "Mandarin"
      ],
      "zh-pron": "wú wéi níuhòu"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Tongyong-Pinyin"
      ],
      "zh-pron": "níng wéi jikǒu"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Tongyong-Pinyin"
      ],
      "zh-pron": "wú wéi nióuhòu"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Wade-Giles"
      ],
      "zh-pron": "ning² wei² chi¹-kʻou³"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Wade-Giles"
      ],
      "zh-pron": "wu² wei² niu²-hou⁴"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Yale"
      ],
      "zh-pron": "níng wéi jī-kǒu-"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Yale"
      ],
      "zh-pron": "wú wéi nyóu-hòu"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Gwoyeu-Romatsyh",
        "Mandarin"
      ],
      "zh-pron": "ning wei jikoou"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Gwoyeu-Romatsyh",
        "Mandarin"
      ],
      "zh-pron": "wu wei niouhow"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Palladius"
      ],
      "zh-pron": "нин вэй цзикоу"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Palladius"
      ],
      "zh-pron": "у вэй нюхоу"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Palladius"
      ],
      "zh-pron": "nin vɛj czikou"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Palladius"
      ],
      "zh-pron": "u vɛj njuxou"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/niŋ³⁵ weɪ̯³⁵ t͡ɕi⁵⁵ kʰoʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ u³⁵ weɪ̯³⁵ ni̯oʊ̯³⁵ xoʊ̯⁵¹/",
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Sinological-IPA"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/niŋ³⁵ weɪ̯³⁵ t͡ɕi⁵⁵ kʰoʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ u³⁵ weɪ̯³⁵ ni̯oʊ̯³⁵ xoʊ̯⁵¹/"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "roman": "jīkǒuníuhòu",
      "word": "雞口牛後/鸡口牛后"
    },
    {
      "roman": "jīkǒuníuhòu",
      "word": "雞口牛後"
    },
    {
      "roman": "jīkǒuníuhòu",
      "word": "鸡口牛后"
    }
  ],
  "word": "寧為雞口,無為牛後"
}
{
  "called_from": "pronunciations/296/20230324",
  "msg": "Zh-pron header not found in zh_pron_tags or tags: '(Standard Chinese)⁺'",
  "path": [
    "寧為雞口,無為牛後"
  ],
  "section": "Chinese",
  "subsection": "",
  "title": "寧為雞口,無為牛後",
  "trace": ""
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable All languages combined dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-06-04 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-05-02 using wiktextract (e9e0a99 and db5a844). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.