Chinese Idiom

守株待兔🔊

Shǒu Zhū Dài Tù
📚 Idioms⏱ 3 min read🎧 Audio

This idiom means waiting for luck instead of working hard.

The Story 🔊

Sòngguó yǒu gè nóngfū yì tiān zài tián lǐ gànhuó
宋国Sòngguó🔊有个yǒu gè🔊农夫nóngfū🔊一天yì tiān🔊zài🔊田里tián lǐ🔊干活gànhuó🔊
Yì zhī tùzi huānghuāngzhāngzhāng pǎo guòlái zhuàng zài shùzhuāng shàng sǐ le
一只Yì zhī🔊兔子tùzi🔊慌慌张张huānghuāngzhāngzhāng🔊跑过来pǎo guòlái🔊撞在zhuàng zài🔊树桩上shùzhuāng shàng🔊死了sǐ le🔊
Nóngfū bái jiǎn le yì zhī tùzi fēicháng gāoxìng
农夫Nóngfū🔊白捡了bái jiǎn le🔊一只yì zhī🔊兔子tùzi🔊非常fēicháng🔊高兴gāoxìng🔊
Cóngcǐ tā bú zài zhòngdì tiāntiān shǒu zài shùzhuāng páng děng tùzi
从此Cóngcǐ🔊🔊不再bú zài🔊种地zhòngdì🔊天天tiāntiān🔊守在shǒu zài🔊树桩旁shùzhuāng páng🔊děng🔊兔子tùzi🔊
Kěshì zài yě méiyǒu tùzi zhuàng shùzhuāng le tiándì yě huāngwú le
可是Kěshì🔊再也没有zài yě méiyǒu🔊兔子tùzi🔊zhuàng🔊树桩了shùzhuāng le🔊田地tiándì🔊🔊荒芜了huāngwú le🔊
English Translation:
A farmer in Song was working in his field one day. A rabbit ran over in panic and crashed into a tree stump, dying. The farmer picked up the rabbit for free and was very happy. From then on, he stopped farming and waited by the stump every day for more rabbits. But no more rabbits crashed into the stump, and his field became barren.

Key Vocabulary

守株待兔
shǒu zhū dài tù
guard the stump waiting for rabbits
树桩
shùzhuāng
tree stump
兔子
tùzi
rabbit
农夫
nóngfū
farmer
荒芜
huāngwú
barren
白捡
bái jiǎn
pick up for free

The Moral

Don't rely on luck! This idiom means waiting for good fortune instead of working hard.

Cultural Insight

守株待兔 comes from "Han Feizi" (韩非子).