池中物 (chízhōngwù): (fig.) a person of no great amb…

Meanings

1 (fig.) a person of no great ambition; someone destined to stay in a small place
2 a nobody — used especially in the negative 非池中物 (not a nobody, i.e. destined for greatness)

Characters

池

Examples

以他的能力，绝非池中物。

Yǐ tā de nénglì, jué fēi chízhōngwù.

With his ability, he's definitely not one to stay in the small pond.

老师早就看出这孩子不是池中物。

Lǎoshī zǎo jiù kànchū zhè háizi bùshì chízhōngwù.

The teacher saw long ago that this kid wasn't destined for obscurity.

Tips

history

The phrase alludes to descriptions in the Three Kingdoms era of Zhou Yu calling Liu Bei 非池中物 — not a creature of the pond, meaning a dragon who would eventually take flight.