竭泽而渔 in English jie2 ze2 er2 yu2 Meaning

Meanings

  • literally (word for word) to drain the pond to get at the fish (idiomatic expression)
  • metaphorically to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs

Simplified Characters

竭 泽 而 渔

Traditional Characters

竭 澤 而 漁

Pinyin

jie2 ze2 er2 yu2

Literal

Literal explanation, with pronunciation and meaning of each character.

竭jie2to exhaust 泽ze2pool 而er2and 渔yu2fisherman