CHENGYU
杀鸡取卵(shā jī qǔ luǎn)meaning, story and origin
- Register:
- formal, critical
- Source:
- 《伊索寓言》
MEANING
- Literal
- to kill the hen for the eggs
- Figurative meaning
- to ruin the future for a short-term gain
ORIGIN STORY
The idiom is the Chinese telling of Aesop's fable: a couple killed the goose that laid golden eggs, hoping to take all the gold at once — and found nothing inside. Their greed ended the treasure forever.
NATURAL EQUIVALENT
“to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs”
EXAMPLES
为了赚钱污染河水，这是杀鸡取卵。Wèi le zhuànqián wūrǎn héshuǐ, zhè shì shā jī qǔ luǎn.HSK6
Polluting the river for profit is killing the hen for its eggs.
过度砍伐森林就是杀鸡取卵。Guòdù kǎnfá sēnlín jiù shì shā jī qǔ luǎn.HSK6
Over-logging the forests is slaughtering the hen for the eggs.
COMMON MISTAKE
Watch out: It criticizes destroying a long-term source for instant profit.
CHARACTER BREAKDOWN
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TRUST & SOURCES
- Reviewed by
- AI-assisted editorial review
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-15
- CC-CEDICT 2026-01-01