杀鸡取卵 (shājīqǔluǎn) Kill the Hen that Lays Golden Eggs (Advanced)
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Key Learning Points (Preview):
杀鸡取卵 (shājīqǔluǎn): to kill the hen that lays golden eggs
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金 (jīn): adj. golden
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Listen to the whole story:
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Yǒu yí duì pínqióng de fūfù, tāmen yǎngle yì zhī lǎo mǔjī.
有 一 对 贫穷 的夫妇,他们 养了 一只 老 母鸡。
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Once there was a poor couple who kept an old hen.
Tūrán yǒu yì tiān, lǎo mǔjī xiàle yì zhī jīndàn. Bìngqiě yǐhòu měitiān xià yì zhī.
突然 有 一天, 老 母鸡 下了一 只 金蛋。 并且 以后 每天 下 一只。
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Suddenly one day, the old hen laid a golden egg. From then on, it laid one every day.
Zhè duì fūfù cóngcǐ guò shàng le fùyù de rìzi.
这 对 夫妇 从此 过 上 了 富裕的日子。
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The poor couple began to live a rich life.
Hòulái, tāmen xiǎng: Jìrán zhè zhī jī měitiān dōu néng xià yì zhī jīndàn, nàme,
后来, 他们 想: 既然 这 只鸡 每天 都 能 下 一 只 金蛋,那么,
jī de dù lǐ kěndìng yǒu hěnduō jīndàn, bùrú shā le jī, bǎ suǒyǒu de jīndàn dōu qǔ chūlái.
鸡的肚里 肯定 有 很多 金蛋,不如 杀了鸡,把所有 的 金蛋 都 取 出来。
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Later, they thought to themselves: "Since the hen lays one golden egg every day, it must have lots of golden eggs in its belly; we'd better kill the hen and take all the golden eggs out."
Yúshì, tāmen shā le lǎo mǔjī.
于是,他们 杀 了老 母鸡。
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So, they killed the old hen.
Kěshì pōukāi jī de dùzi yíkàn, bìng méiyǒu jīndàn.
可是 剖开 鸡的 肚子一看, 并 没有 金蛋。
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But when they cut open the hen’s belly, there weren’t any golden eggs at all.
Tāmen bǎ jī shā le, zài yě méiyǒu jīndàn le.
他们 把 鸡杀了,再 也 没有 金蛋 了。
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They had killed the hen and now the golden eggs were gone.
Key Learning Points:
杀鸡取卵 (shājīqǔluǎn): to kill the hen that lays golden eggs
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"杀 (shā)" means to kill, "鸡 (jī)" means chicken, "取 (qǔ)" means to get and "卵 (luǎn)" usually means ovum, but in the phrase "杀鸡取卵 (shājīqǔluǎn)," "卵 (luǎn)" just means egg.
Example:
Wǒmen bùnéng shājīqǔluǎn, zhǐ gù yǎnqián lìyì.
我们 不能 杀鸡取卵,只 顾 眼前 利益。
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We mustn't kill the hen that lays golden eggs for short-term interest.
金 (jīn): adj. golden
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Example:
Tā yǒu zhe jīnsè de tóufa hé báijìng de pífū, kànqǐlái xiàng gè gōngzhǔ.
她 有 着 金色 的 头发 和 白净 的皮肤,看起来 像 个 公主。
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She has blonde hair and fair skin, so she looks just like a princess.
More Mandarin Idioms for Children:
盲人摸象 The Blind Men and the Elephant
井底之蛙 The Frog in the Well
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