覆巢之下無完卵

Chinese

to cover; to overflow; to reply to a letter
to cover; to overflow; to reply to a letter; to overturn; to capsize
 
 nest 's; him/her/it; this
under; next; lower
under; next; lower; below; underneath; down(wards); to go down; latter
 
 not have
to finish; to be over; whole
to finish; to be over; whole; complete; entire
 
 ovum
trad. (覆巢之下無完卵) 覆 巢 之 下 無 完 卵
simp. (覆巢之下无完卵) 覆 巢 之 下 无 完 卵
Literally: “No eggs remain intact when the nest overturns.”

Etymology

二子方弈棋，融被收而不動。左右曰：『父執而不起，何也？』答曰：『安有巢，毀而卵不破乎！』 [Literary Chinese, trad.]
二子方弈棋，融被收而不动。左右曰：『父执而不起，何也？』答曰：『安有巢，毁而卵不破乎！』 [Literary Chinese, simp.]
From: The Book of the Later Han, circa 5th century CE
Èr zǐ fāng yìqí, Róng bèi shōu ér bùdòng. Zuǒyòu yuē: ‘Fù zhí ér bùqǐ, hé yě?’ Dá yuē: ‘Ān yǒu cháo, huǐ ér luǎn bù pò hū!’ [Pinyin]
(please add an English translation of this usage example)

Pronunciation

Proverb

覆巢之下無完卵

  1. No individual can escape from the calamity its group is suffering.

Synonyms

References

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