雞肋
See also: 鸡肋
Chinese
fowl; chicken | rib | ||
---|---|---|---|
trad. (雞肋) | 雞 | 肋 | |
simp. (鸡肋) | 鸡 | 肋 |
Etymology
The figurative sense is from a story about Yang Xiu's interpretation of Cao Cao's thoughts in Sanguozhi , and became well known through its adapted version in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms:
- 夫雞肋,棄之如可惜,食之無所得,以比漢中,知王欲還也。 [Literary Chinese, trad.]
- From: Chen Shou, Records of the Three Kingdoms, circa 3rd century CE
- Fū jīlèi, qì zhī rú kěxī, shí zhī wú suǒdé, yǐ bǐ hànzhōng, zhī wáng yù hái yě. [Pinyin]
- As for chicken ribs, it's pitiful to throw them away, yet there is not much [meat] to eat. If we know that the King [Cao Cao] is using them to compare Hanzhong, we can know that he wants to retreat.
夫鸡肋,弃之如可惜,食之无所得,以比汉中,知王欲还也。 [Literary Chinese, simp.]
Pronunciation
Noun
雞肋
- chicken ribs
- (figurative) thing of little value or interest, yet pitiable if given up or thrown away
See also
- 食之無味,棄之可惜/食之无味,弃之可惜 (shí zhī wúwèi, qì zhī kěxī)