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 dānqiāng-pǐmǎ tiǎozhàn zhěnggè hángyè, jiǎnzhí shì pífú hàn dà shù.

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 pífú hàn dà shù 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