守株待兔 To Stand by a Tree Stump Waiting for a Hare (Intermediate)

Learn Mandarin Chinese Idiom: 守株待兔 (Shǒuzhūdàitù) To Stand by a Tree Stump Waiting for a Hare (Intermediate)

Key Learning Point (Preview):

待 (dài): v. to wait/to wait for

Cóngqián, yǒu yí gè nóngfū.
从前，有一个农夫。
Once upon a time, there was a farmer.

Yì tiān, zài tā gēngtián de shíhou, hūrán pǎo guò lái  yì zhī yětù,
一 天，在他耕田的时候，忽然跑过一只 野兔，
qiàhǎo pèng zài yí gè shùzhuāng shàng, bózi zhé duàn sǐ le.
恰好碰在一 个树桩上，脖子折断死了。
One day, while he was working in the fields, he saw a hare run into a tree stump accidentally and die of a broken neck.

Nóngfū bǎ tùzi shí huí jiā qù, měiměide chī le yí dùn tùròu.
农夫把兔子拾回家去，美美地吃 了一 顿兔肉。
The farmer took the hare home and cooked a delicious meal for himself.

Dāng wǎn, tā jiù xiǎng: "wǒ hébì xīnxīnkǔkǔ de zhòngdì ne?
当晚，他就想：我何必辛辛苦苦的种地呢？
Měi tiān zài shùzhuāng páng děngzhe jiǎn zhuàng sǐ de yětù jiù hǎo le."
每天在树桩旁等着捡撞死的野兔就好了。
That night he thought: "I needn't work so hard. All I have to do is wait every day by the stump to pick up the hare that runs into it."

Yúshì tā cóngcǐ bú zài gēngzhòng, měi tiān zài  shùzhuāng páng děngdài yětù de dàolái.
于是， 他从此不再耕种，每天在树桩旁等待野兔的到来。
So from then on he gave up farming, and stood by the tree stump waiting for the hare to come and run into it.

Dànshì, cóng nà yǐhòu, tā zài méiyǒu fāxiàn yì zhī yětù zhuàng zài shùzhuāng shàng.
但是，从那以后，他再没有发现 一 只野兔撞在树桩上。
But from then on, he never saw another hare run into the tree stump.

The moral: We shouldn't just wait for a stroke of luck. If we want to do something, we should work hard at it, just like the saying goes, " No pain, no gain."

Key Learning Point:
 

待(dài): v. to wait/to wait for

We often use "等待(děngdài)" instead of "待(dài)" to express the meaning of "to wait/to wait for." In spoken Chinese, we often say "等(děng)," which is short for "等待(děngdài)." "等待(děngdài)" is more formal than "等(děng)."

Example:
 

Nǐ hǎohao xuéxí hànyǔ, wǒ děngdài nǐ tōngguò hànyǔ shuǐpíng kǎoshì de hǎo xiāoxi. 
你好好学习汉语，我等待你,通过汉语水平考试的好消息。 Learn Mandarin Chinese with all your heart. I am waiting for the good news of you passing HSK test.

Duìbùqǐ, ràng nǐ děng le wǒ zhème cháng shíjiān.
对不起， 让你等了我这么长时间。
I am sorry to have kept you waiting so long.

Méi guānxi.
没关系。
Never mind.

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