螳臂挡车

螳臂擋車
tángbìdǎngchē
idiom

Meanings

  1. 1 a mantis trying to stop a chariot — to overestimate one's strength against an overwhelming force
  2. 2 doomed by self-delusion

Examples

Nǐ yī gè rén xiǎng zǔzhǐ zhè jiàn shì, jiǎnzhí shì tángbìdǎngchē.
For you to try to stop this on your own is a mantis blocking a chariot.
Miànduì lìshǐ cháoliú, rènhé fǎnkàng dōu shì tángbìdǎngchē.
Against the tide of history, any resistance is futile self-overestimation.

Tips

history
From 《庄子·人间》 (Zhuangzi, 'In the Human World'): 不知螳螂不知不胜。 — 'Don't you know the mantis? It raises its arms in fury to block the chariot's track, oblivious that it can't bear the load.' The / forms are interchangeable; CC-CEDICT cross-references both.
usage
Pejorative — used to dismiss someone whose resistance is hopeless and self-aggrandizing. Don't apply to a brave underdog you sympathize with; for that, prefer (yǐluǎnjīshí, 'eggs against rock') or (pífúhànshù, 'ant trying to shake a tree').

Stroke Order

táng
dǎng
chē