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池中物

chízhōngwù
phrase

Meanings

  1. 1 a person of no great ambition; someone destined to stay in a small place
  2. 2 a nobody, used especially in the negative 非池中物 (not a nobody, i.e. destined for greatness)

Examples

HSK 5
老师早就看出这孩子不是池中物。
Lǎoshī zǎojiù kànchū zhè háizi bùshì chízhōngwù.
The teacher saw long ago that this kid wasn't destined for obscurity.
HSK 7-9
以他的能力，绝非池中物。
Yǐ tā de nénglì, juéfēi chízhōngwù.
With his ability, he's definitely not one to stay in the small pond.

Tips

history
The phrase alludes to descriptions in the Three Kingdoms era of Zhou Yu calling Liu Bei 非池中物, not a creature of the pond, meaning a dragon who would eventually take flight.

Stroke Order

池 chí
中 zhōng
物 wù