一人得道，鸡犬升天 in English yi1 ren2 de2 dao4 , ji1 quan3 sheng1 tian1 Meaning

Meanings

  • literally (word for word) when a man achieves the Dao, his poultry and dogs rise to Heaven (idiomatic expression)
  • metaphorically to ride on somebody else's success
  • Once one man gets a government position, all his cronies get in too
  • Once somebody has cracked the problem, every Tom, Dick and Harry can do it

Simplified Characters

一 人 得 道 ， 鸡 犬 升 天

Traditional Characters

一 人 得 道 ， 雞 犬 升 天

Pinyin

yi1 ren2 de2 dao4 , ji1 quan3 sheng1 tian1

Literal

Literal explanation, with pronunciation and meaning of each character.

一yi1one 人ren2man 得de2to obtain 道dao4road ， 鸡ji1fowl 犬quan3dog 升sheng1to ascend 天tian1day