又要马儿跑，又要马儿不吃草 in English you4 yao4 ma3 r5 pao3 , you4 yao4 ma3 r5 bu4 chi1 cao3 Meaning

Meanings

  • literally (word for word) you can't expect the horse to run fast but not let it graze (idiomatic expression)
  • metaphorically you can't have your cake and eat it, too

Simplified Characters

又 要 马 儿 跑 ， 又 要 马 儿 不 吃 草

Traditional Characters

又 要 馬 兒 跑 ， 又 要 馬 兒 不 吃 草

Pinyin

you4 yao4 ma3 r5 pao3 , you4 yao4 ma3 r5 bu4 chi1 cao3

Literal

Literal explanation, with pronunciation and meaning of each character.

又you4(once) again 要yao4to demand 马ma3surname Ma 儿er2variant of 人[ren2] 跑pao3(of an animal) to paw (the ground) ， 又you4(once) again 要yao4to demand 马ma3surname Ma 儿er2variant of 人[ren2] 不bu4(negative prefix) 吃chi1to eat 草cao3variant of 草[cao3]