穷鼠啮狸 in English qiong2 shu3 nie4 li2 Meaning

Meanings

  • a desperate rat will bite the fox (idiomatic expression); the smallest worm will turn being trodden on

Simplified Characters

穷 鼠 啮 狸

Traditional Characters

窮 鼠 嚙 狸

Pinyin

qiong2 shu3 nie4 li2

Literal

Literal explanation, with pronunciation and meaning of each character.

穷qiong2poor 鼠shu3rat 啮nie4to gnaw 狸li2raccoon dog