殺雞取卵

See also: 杀鸡取卵

Chinese

		to kill; to murder; to slaughter	fowl; chicken	to take; to get; to choose to take; to get; to choose; to fetch	ovum
trad. (殺雞取卵/殺鷄取卵)		殺	雞/鷄	取	卵
simp. (杀鸡取卵)		杀	鸡	取	卵
Literally: “to kill the hen to get the eggs”.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): shājīqǔluǎn

  (Zhuyin): ㄕㄚ ㄐㄧ ㄑㄩˇ ㄌㄨㄢˇ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): saat³ gai¹ ceoi² leon²

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)
    • Hanyu Pinyin: shājīqǔluǎn [Phonetic: shājīqúluǎn]
    • Zhuyin: ㄕㄚ ㄐㄧ ㄑㄩˇ ㄌㄨㄢˇ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: shajicyǔluǎn
    • Wade–Giles: sha¹-chi¹-chʻü³-luan³
    • Yale: shā-jī-chyǔ-lwǎn
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shajicheuloan
    • Palladius: шацзицюйлуань (šaczicjujluanʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʂä⁵⁵ t͡ɕi⁵⁵ t͡ɕʰy²¹⁴⁻³⁵ lu̯än²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: saat³ gai¹ ceoi² leon²
    • Yale: saat gāi chéui léun
    • Cantonese Pinyin: saat⁸ gai¹ tsoey² loen²
    • Guangdong Romanization: sad³ gei¹ cêu² lên²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /saːt̚³ kɐi̯⁵⁵ t͡sʰɵy̯³⁵ lɵn³⁵/

Idiom

殺雞取卵

1. (figurative) to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs

   你挪用公款來吃喝玩樂，無異是殺雞取卵，終將自食惡果。 [MSC, trad.]
   你挪用公款来吃喝玩乐，无异是杀鸡取卵，终将自食恶果。 [MSC, simp.]

   Nǐ nuóyòng gōngkuǎn lái chīhēwányuè, wúyì shì shājīqǔluǎn, zhōng jiāng zìshí'èguǒ. [Pinyin]

   (please add an English translation of this usage example)

2. (figurative) politicians levy excessive taxes and do not hesitate to cut off the people's vitality

   秦始皇橫徵暴斂，使百姓三餐不繼，民不聊生，這種方式無異於殺雞取卵。 [MSC, trad.]
   秦始皇横征暴敛，使百姓三餐不继，民不聊生，这种方式无异于杀鸡取卵。 [MSC, simp.]

   Qínshǐhuáng héngzhēngbàoliǎn, shǐ bǎixìng sāncān bùjì, mínbùliáoshēng, zhè zhǒng fāngshì wúyì yú shājīqǔluǎn. [Pinyin]

   (please add an English translation of this usage example)

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 殺雞取卵 (“to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		殺雞取卵
Northeastern Mandarin	Taiwan	殺雞取卵
	Singapore	殺雞取卵
Cantonese	Hong Kong	殺雞取卵
Southern Min	Xiamen	刣雞取卵, 刣雞閹卵
	Tainan	刣雞閹卵

• 竭澤而漁／竭泽而渔 (jiézé'éryú)

References

• “Entry #129136”, in 重編國語辭典修訂本 [Revised Mandarin Chinese Dictionary] (in Chinese), National Academy for Educational Research (Taiwan), 2021.