鱼 与 熊 掌 不 可 兼 得

yú yǔ xióng zhǎng bù kě jiān dédictionary entry

lit. the fish and the bear's paw, you can't have both at the same time (idiom, from Mencius) / fig. you must choose one or the other / you can't always get everything you want / you can't have your cake and eat it

Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-1e04fc055f3143d6. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

魚與熊掌不可兼得 鱼与熊掌不可兼得 [yu2 yu3 xiong2 zhang3 bu4 ke3 jian1 de2] /lit. the fish and the bear's paw, you can't have both at the same time (idiom, from Mencius); fig. you must choose one or the other/you can't always get everything you want/you can't have your cake and eat it/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

Other forms in these source records: 魚與熊掌不可兼得

鱼
yú
fish (CL:條|条[tiáo],尾[wěi]) / used in the names of various aquatic animals that are not fish (including abalone 鮑魚|鲍鱼[bào yú], alligators and crocodiles 鱷魚|鳄鱼[è yú] and octopi 章魚|章鱼[zhāng yú])
Yú
surname Yu
与
yú
See the full entry for source details.
yǔ
(formal) and / together with (linking parallel nouns, verbs, or phrases) / (formal) with / from (marking the other participant in an interaction, comparison, or contrast, e.g. 與他握手|与他握手[yǔ tā wò shǒu] "shake hands with him", 與去年不同|与去年不同[yǔ qù nián bù tóng] "different from last year") / (literary) to give / to grant / to bestow
yù
to take part in
熊
xióng
bear / (coll.) to scold / to rebuke / (coll.) weak / incapable
Xióng
surname Xiong
掌
zhǎng
palm of the hand / sole of the foot / paw / horseshoe / to slap / to hold in one's hand / to wield
不
bù
no / not so / (bound form) not / un-
可
kě
(prefix) can / may / able to / -able / to approve / to permit / to suit / (particle used for emphasis) certainly / very / but / however
kè
used in 可汗[kè hán]
兼
jiān
double / twice / simultaneous / holding two or more (official) posts at the same time
得
dé
to obtain / to get / to gain / to catch (a disease) / proper / suitable / proud / contented / to allow / to permit / ready / finished
dè
used in 得瑟[dè se]
de
structural particle: used after a verb (or adjective as main verb), linking it to following phrase indicating effect, degree, possibility etc
děi
to have to / must / ought to / to need to

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.