CHENGYU
虎头蛇尾(hǔ tóu shé wěi)meaning, story and origin
- Register:
- neutral, mildly critical
- Source:
- 宋·释道原《景德传灯录》
MEANING
- Literal
- a tiger's head and a snake's tail
- Figurative meaning
- to start with a bang and end with a whimper
ORIGIN STORY
A Chan master in the Song dynasty Record of the Lamp warned: "To practice the Way, start as you mean to go on — do not make a tiger's head and a snake's tail."
NATURAL EQUIVALENT
“to peter out”
EXAMPLES
这个项目开头轰轰烈烈，最后虎头蛇尾。Zhège xiàngmù kāitóu hōnghōnglièliè, zuìhòu hǔ tóu shé wěi.HSK6
The project began with great fanfare and ended a tiger's head with a snake's tail.
做事不能虎头蛇尾，要坚持到底。Zuòshì bù néng hǔ tóu shé wěi, yào jiānchí dàodǐ.HSK6
Do not start like a tiger and finish like a snake — see things through.
COMMON MISTAKE
Watch out: It criticizes weak endings — not strong starts themselves.
CHARACTER BREAKDOWN
Tap a character to explore it
TRUST & SOURCES
- Reviewed by
- AI-assisted editorial review
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-15
- CC-CEDICT 2026-01-01