蚍蜉撼大树

蚍蜉撼大樹

pífúhàndàshù

idiom

Meanings

1 an ant trying to shake a great tree
2 to overrate one's own strength ridiculously
3 a futile, arrogant challenge against the overwhelming

Characters

(used in 蚍蜉)

(used in 蚍蜉 — a type of large ant)

Examples

他想单枪匹马挑战整个行业，简直是蚍蜉撼大树。

Tā xiǎng dānqiāngpǐmǎ tiǎozhàn zhěnggè hángyè, jiǎnzhí shì pífúhàndàshù.

His attempt to single-handedly challenge the whole industry is just an ant trying to shake a great tree.

批评前人的经典，若无真才实学，不过是蚍蜉撼大树而已。

Pīpíng qiánrén de jīngdiǎn, ruò wú zhēncáishíxué, bùguò shì pífúhàndàshù éryǐ.

Critiquing the classics of the ancients without real learning is nothing but an ant shaking a great tree.

Tips

history

From Han Yu's (韩愈, Tang dynasty) 《调张籍》, in which he defends Li Bai and Du Fu against their detractors: 蚍蜉撼大树，可笑不自量 — 'An ant tries to shake a great tree — laughable that it knows not its own weight.' The line became the stock Chinese way to describe self-important weaklings attacking giants.

usage

Often shortened to the 4-character form 蚍蜉撼树 (pífúhànshù). CC-CEDICT lists both forms. Strongly sarcastic register — don't use it mildly.

Stroke Order

蚍 pí

蜉 fú

撼 hàn

大 dà

树 shù