| 出头的椽子先烂 |
chū tóu de chuán zi xiān làn |
lit. rafters that jut out rot first (idiom) / fig. anyone who makes himself conspicuous will be targeted for attack |
| 出 |
chū |
to go out; to come out / to arise; to occur / to produce; to yield / to go beyond; to exceed / (used after a verb to indicate an outward direction or a positive result) / classifier for dramas, plays, operas etc |
| 出 |
chū |
variant of 出 (classifier for plays or chapters of classical novels) |
| 出头 |
chū tóu |
to get out of a predicament / to stick out / to take the initiative / remaining odd fraction after a division / a little more than |
| 头 |
tóu |
head / hair style / the top / end / beginning or end / a stub / remnant / chief / boss / side / aspect / first / leading / classifier for pigs or livestock / CL:个 |
| 头 |
tou |
suffix for nouns |
| 的 |
de |
of; ~'s (possessive particle) / (used after an attribute when it modifies a noun) / (used at the end of a declarative sentence for emphasis) / (used after a noun, verb or adjective to form a nominal expression, as in 皮革的 "one made of leather" or 跑堂儿的 "a waiter (literally, one who runs back and forth in a restaurant)" or 新的 "new one") / also pr. [di4] or [di5] in poetry and songs |
| 的 |
dī |
(bound form) a taxi; a cab (abbr. for 的士) |
| 的 |
dí |
really and truly |
| 的 |
dì |
(bound form) bull's-eye; target |
| 椽 |
chuán |
beam / rafter / classifier for rooms |
| 椽子 |
chuán zi |
beam / rafter |
| 子 |
zǐ |
son / child / seed / egg / small thing / 1st earthly branch: 11 p.m.–1 a.m., midnight, 11th solar month (7th December to 5th January), year of the rat / viscount, fourth of five orders of nobility 五等爵位 / ancient Chinese compass point: 0° (north) / subsidiary; subordinate; (prefix) sub- |
| 子 |
zi |
noun suffix, as in 椅子 "chair" |
| 先 |
xiān |
beforehand; first; earlier / at first; originally / for the time being; for now / (prefix) my late (in referring to deceased relatives older than oneself) |
| 烂 |
làn |
soft; mushy / well-cooked and soft / to rot; to decompose / rotten / worn out / chaotic; messy / utterly; thoroughly / crappy; bad |