守株待兔

shǒu zhū dài tù

to wait idly for another windfall

Character by character

守shǒu
guard

株zhū
the stump

待dài
wait for

兔tù
rabbits

机会要自己去找，不能守株待兔。

You have to go and find opportunities; you cannot sit waiting for rabbits.

Tone: negative (criticism).

Learn this in Lesson 207 · HSK 9+: 寓言与名句 (Fables and famous lines)

A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. This lesson is free.