CHENGYU
鸡飞蛋打(jī fēi dàn dǎ)meaning, story and origin
- Register:
- neutral, vivid
- Source:
- 清·蒲松龄《聊斋志异·阿霞》
MEANING
- Literal
- the chicken flies off and the eggs break
- Figurative meaning
- to lose everything in one go; complete failure
ORIGIN STORY
From a tale in Pu Songling's Strange Tales: a faithless man abandons his wife for a new match, and "the eggs are broken and the bird has flown" — he ends with nothing at all.
NATURAL EQUIVALENT
“to come away empty-handed”
EXAMPLES
他既丢了工作又赔了钱，真是鸡飞蛋打。Tā jì diū le gōngzuò yòu péi le qián, zhēn shì jī fēi dàn dǎ.HSK6
He lost both the job and the money — the chicken flew and the eggs broke.
脚踏两条船，最后只会鸡飞蛋打。Jiǎo tà liǎng tiáo chuán, zuìhòu zhǐ huì jī fēi dàn dǎ.HSK6
Keeping two boats underfoot ends with the bird flown and the eggs shattered.
COMMON MISTAKE
Watch out: It means losing everything, typically through one's own misjudgment.
CHARACTER BREAKDOWN
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TRUST & SOURCES
- Reviewed by
- AI-assisted editorial review
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-15
- CC-CEDICT 2026-01-01