胸怀大志

胸懷大志

xiōnghuái-dàzhì

idiom #51,012

Meanings

1 to harbor great ambitions in one's breast
2 to cherish lofty aspirations
3 to have grand goals

Characters

aspiration / will

Examples

他从小就胸怀大志，立志当科学家。

Tā cóngxiǎo jiù xiōnghuáidàzhì, lìzhì dāng kēxuéjiā.

Since childhood he has had great ambitions — he wants to be a scientist.

年轻人应该胸怀大志，脚踏实地。

Niánqīngrén yīnggāi xiōnghuáidàzhì, jiǎotàshídì.

Young people should have lofty ambitions while keeping their feet on the ground.

胸怀大志的人不会满足于眼前的小成就。

Xiōnghuáidàzhì de rén bùhuì mǎnzú yú yǎnqián de xiǎo chéngjiù.

People with great ambitions aren't satisfied with small immediate wins.

Tips

history

From 明·罗贯中《三国演义》第二十一回: in the famous 'plum-warmed wine' scene, Cao Cao defines a true hero as one 胸怀大志, 腹有良谋 — 'with great ambition in his breast and fine strategies in his belly,' before pointing at Liu Bei as just such a man.

Stroke Order

胸 xiōng

怀 huái

大 dà

志 zhì