竭泽而渔
jié zé ér yú
to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs
Character by character
竭jié
drain
drain
泽zé
the pond
the pond
而ér
in order to
in order to
渔yú
fish
fish
Example
为了眼前的利益破坏环境，无异于竭泽而渔。
Wrecking the environment for immediate gain is no different from draining the pond to catch the fish.
Tone: negative (criticism).
Learn this in Lesson 105 · HSK 7–9: 蓝天与“双碳” (Blue skies and carbon goals)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
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