鶴長鳧短
Chinese
| crane | long; length; forever long; length; forever; always; constantly; chief; head; elder; to grow; to develop |
wild duck; to swim | lack; short | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| trad. (鶴長鳧短) | 鶴 | 長 | 鳧 | 短 | |
| simp. (鹤长凫短) | 鹤 | 长 | 凫 | 短 | |
| Literally: “a crane's legs are long, a duck's are short”. | |||||
Etymology
Derived from a passage in the Zhuangzi.
- 是故鳧脛雖短，續之則憂；鶴脛雖長，斷之則悲。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
- From: Zhuangzi, circa 3rd – 2nd centuries BCE
- Shìgù fú jìng suī duǎn, xù zhī zé yōu; hè jìng suī cháng, duàn zhī zé bēi. [Pinyin]
- Thus a duck's legs, for instance, are short, but if we try to lengthen them, it occasions pain; and a crane's legs are long, but if we try to cut off a portion of them, it produces grief.
是故凫胫虽短，续之则忧；鹤胫虽长，断之则悲。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
Pronunciation
Idiom
鶴長鳧短
- things should be allowed to take their natural course
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