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竭泽而渔

jié zé ér yúdictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
lit. to drain the pond to get at the fish (idiom) / fig. to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs
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-4125728e0c75cca6. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

竭澤而漁 竭泽而渔 [jie2 ze2 er2 yu2] /lit. to drain the pond to get at the fish (idiom)/fig. to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs/

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: 竭澤而漁

  • 竭
    jié

    to exhaust

  • 泽
    zé

    pool / pond / (of metals etc) luster / favor or beneficence / damp / moist

  • 而
    ér

    and / as well as / and so / but (not) / yet (not) / (indicates causal relation) / (indicates change of state) / (indicates contrast)

  • 渔
    yú

    fisherman / to fish

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.