Wiktionary

寧為雞口，無為牛後

Chinese edit

peaceful; rather; Ningxia (abbrev.)
 
because of; for; to
because of; for; to; act as; take...to be; to be; to do; to serve as; to become
 fowl; chicken mouth; (a measure word, for people, livestock or utensils) not have
 
because of; for; to
because of; for; to; act as; take...to be; to be; to do; to serve as; to become
 ox; cow; bull
 
back; behind; rear
back; behind; rear; afterwards; after; later
trad. (寧為雞口，無為牛後/寧爲鷄口，無爲牛後) 寧 為/爲 雞/鷄 口 ， 無 為/爲 牛 後
simp. (宁为鸡口，无为牛后) 宁 为 鸡 口 ， 无 为 牛 后
alternative forms 寧為雞口，不為牛後／宁为鸡口，不为牛后
Literally: “Better be the beak of a chicken (smaller but cleaner) than the arse of an ox (bigger but dirtier)”.

Etymology edit

Quoted from Su Qin's speech to King Xuanhui of Han, persuading him to unite with other states to fight against Qin:

臣聞鄙語曰：「寧為雞口，無為牛後」。今大王西面交臂而臣事秦，何以異於牛後乎？ [Classical Chinese, trad.]
臣闻鄙语曰：「宁为鸡口，无为牛后」。今大王西面交臂而臣事秦，何以异于牛后乎？ [Classical Chinese, simp.]
From: Zhanguo Ce, circa 5th – 3rd centuries BCE
Chén wén bǐyǔ yuē: “Níng wèi jī kǒu, wú wèi niú hòu”. Jīn dàwáng xīmiàn jiāobì ér chénshì qín, héyǐ yì yú niú hòu hū? [Pinyin]
(Su Qin said,) “I have heard that there is a saying that ‘it is better to be the beak of a chicken than the arse of an ox’. Now if Your Majesty would like to bow to the west and submit to Qin, that is no difference with being an ox's arse, isn't it?”

Pronunciation edit

Proverb edit

寧為雞口，無為牛後

  1. (figurative) It is better to be a big fish in a small pond than a small fish in a big pond.

Synonyms edit

Related terms edit

Descendants edit

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