CHENGYU
闻鸡起舞(wén jī qǐ wǔ)meaning, story and origin
- Register:
- literary, approving
- Source:
- 《晋书·祖逖传》
MEANING
- Literal
- to rise and practice swordplay at the cock's crow
- Figurative meaning
- to rise early and train hard for a worthy goal
ORIGIN STORY
The young Zu Ti of the Jin dynasty woke at the first crow of the rooster and roused his friend Liu Kun to practice swordplay together, determined to save their country from invasion.
NATURAL EQUIVALENT
“to be up with the lark”
EXAMPLES
他每天闻鸡起舞，坚持锻炼身体。Tā měitiān wén jī qǐ wǔ, jiānchí duànliàn shēntǐ.HSK6
He rises at dawn every day and keeps up his training.
高考前他闻鸡起舞，每天五点起床学习。Gāokǎo qián tā wén jī qǐ wǔ, měitiān wǔ diǎn qǐchuáng xuéxí.HSK6
Before the college exam he rose with the roosters and studied from five every morning.
COMMON MISTAKE
Watch out: It praises early rising for a purpose, not simply being a morning person.
CHARACTER BREAKDOWN
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TRUST & SOURCES
- Reviewed by
- AI-assisted editorial review
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-15
- CC-CEDICT 2026-01-01