CHENGYU
狼吞虎咽(láng tūn hǔ yàn)meaning, story and origin
- Register:
- neutral, vivid
- Source:
- 明·凌濛初《初刻拍案惊奇》
MEANING
- Literal
- to gulp like a wolf and swallow like a tiger
- Figurative meaning
- to eat ravenously
ORIGIN STORY
From a Ming story: travelers devour a feast of roast meat "like wolves gulping and tigers swallowing". The image of two hungry beasts fixed the phrase for any hurried, greedy eating.
NATURAL EQUIVALENT
“to wolf down”
EXAMPLES
他饿坏了，狼吞虎咽地吃完了三碗饭。Tā è huài le, láng tūn hǔ yàn de chī wán le sān wǎn fàn.HSK6
He was starving and wolfed down three bowls of rice.
慢点吃，别狼吞虎咽的，对胃不好。Màn diǎn chī, bié láng tūn hǔ yàn de, duì wèi bù hǎo.HSK6
Slow down — eating like a wolf and tiger is bad for your stomach.
COMMON MISTAKE
Watch out: Note the reading: 咽 is yàn (to swallow), not yān (throat).
CHARACTER BREAKDOWN
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TRUST & SOURCES
- Reviewed by
- AI-assisted editorial review
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-15
- CC-CEDICT 2026-01-01