池沼物

chízhǎowù

idiom

Meanings

1 (fig.) a person of no great ambition; one content to stay in a small pond
2 a creature of the pond — someone stuck in obscurity

Characters

creature; thing

Examples

他不甘做池沼物，终于离开家乡去大城市闯荡。

Tā bùgān zuò chízhǎowù, zhōngyú líkāi jiāxiāng qù dà chéngshì chuǎngdàng.

Unwilling to stay a creature of the pond, he finally left his hometown to make his way in the big city.

以他的才华，绝不是池沼物。

Yǐ tā de cáihuá, jué bù shì chízhǎowù.

With his talent, he's certainly not someone who'll stay stuck in a backwater.

Tips

memory

Compare 池中物 (same meaning, more common). Both come from the old image of a fish or dragon too big for a small pond — if the creature is 非池中物, it's destined for greater things.

Stroke Order

池 chí

沼 zhǎo

物 wù