放 长 线 钓 大 鱼

fàng cháng xiàn diào dà yúdictionary entry

use a long line to catch a big fish (idiom) / a long-term plan for major returns

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-f0f3da5d5a66dec6. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

放長線釣大魚 放长线钓大鱼 [fang4 chang2 xian4 diao4 da4 yu2] /use a long line to catch a big fish (idiom); a long-term plan for major returns/

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: 放長線釣大魚

放
fàng
to put / to place / to release / to free / to let go / to let out / to set off (fireworks)
长
cháng
long / (bound form) length / (bound form) strong point / forte / (bound form) to be good at / (literary) surplus / spare (Taiwan pr. [zhàng])
zhǎng
chief / head / elder / to grow / to develop / to increase / to enhance
线
xiàn
thread / string / wire / line / CL:條|条[tiáo],股[gǔ],根[gēn] / (after a number) tier (unofficial ranking of a Chinese city)
钓
diào
to fish with a hook and line / to angle
大
dà
big / large / great / older (than another person) / eldest (as in 大姐[dà jiě]) / greatly / freely / fully / (dialect) father / (dialect) uncle (father's brother)
dài
see 大夫[dài fu]
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

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.