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Animal Proverbs: Become a pig to catch a tiger

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IN THIS LESSON
ID: 4263 Intermediate
Animal metaphors are prevalent in almost every language, but people from different cultures may regard the same animal differently. In Chinese proverbs, you will see a lot of animal metaphors to symbolize human actions. In this lesson, we're showing you three common proverbs related to pigs. They can be directly translated to "Men are afraid of being famous, just as pigs are afraid of getting fat", "Disguise oneself as a pig to catch a tiger", and "Even though one has never eaten pork, at least one has seen pigs run". Do you know what they actually mean? Check out these proverbs with Joy and Joshua and learn how to apply them to daily life!
Wed Jan 08 2020 | Joy, Joshua
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SIMPLIFIED PINYIN ENGLISH  
懒惰 lǎnduò idle
肮脏 āngzāng dirty
人怕出名猪怕肥 rénpàchūmíngzhūpàféi Being too famous would ultimately lead to your downfall.
出名 chūmíng to become well known
你可以形容一个人懒惰得像一只猪，或者是形容一个人的房间肮脏得像是猪窝一样。
nǐ kěyǐ xíngróng yī gè rén lǎnduò de xiàng yī zhī zhū ，huòzhě shì xíngróng yī gè rén de fángjiān āngzāng de xiàng shì zhū wō yīyàng 。
You can describe a person as lazy as a pig. Or you can describe a person’s room as messy as a pigsty.
因为猪看起来笨笨的、呆呆的，所以我们说猪是老实的，或者是温和的。
yīnwèi zhū kàn qǐlái bèn bèn de 、dāi dāi de ，suǒyǐ wǒmen shuō zhū shì lǎoshi de ，huòzhě shì wēnhé de 。
Because pigs look dumb, we think they are sincere or gentle.
人怕出名猪怕肥
rén pà chūmíng zhū pà féi
Being too famous would ultimately lead to one's downfall.
人怕出名猪怕肥”的意思就是人出了名，就会招来很多麻烦，就像猪肥的时候就会被杀来吃。
rénpàchūmíngzhūpàféi ”de yìsi jiù shì rén chū le míng ，jiù huì zhāo lái hěnduō máfan ，jiù xiàng zhū féi de shíhou jiù huì bèi shā lái chī 。
The proverb means being famous leads to trouble, just as pigs get slaughtered and eaten when they are fat enough.
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