| 窃国者侯，窃钩者诛 |
qiè guó zhě hóu , qiè gōu zhě zhū |
steal the whole country and they make you a prince, steal a hook and they hang you (idiom, from Daoist classic Zhuangzi 庄子) |
| 窃 |
qiè |
to steal / secretly / (humble) I |
| 国 |
Guó |
surname Guo |
| 国 |
guó |
country; nation; state / (bound form) national |
| 者 |
zhě |
(after a verb or adjective) one who (is) ... / (after a noun) person involved in ... / -er / -ist / (used after a number or 后 or 前 to refer to sth mentioned previously) / (used after a term, to mark a pause before defining the term) / (old) (used at the end of a command) / (old) this |
| 侯 |
Hóu |
surname Hou |
| 侯 |
hóu |
marquis, second of the five orders of ancient Chinese nobility 五等爵位 / nobleman; high official |
| 侯 |
hòu |
used in 闽侯 (the name of a place in Fujian) |
| 窃 |
qiè |
to steal / secretly / (humble) I |
| 钩 |
gōu |
variant of 钩 |
| 钩 |
gōu |
to hook / to sew / to crochet / hook / check mark or tick / window catch |
| 者 |
zhě |
(after a verb or adjective) one who (is) ... / (after a noun) person involved in ... / -er / -ist / (used after a number or 后 or 前 to refer to sth mentioned previously) / (used after a term, to mark a pause before defining the term) / (old) (used at the end of a command) / (old) this |
| 诛 |
zhū |
to put (a criminal) to death / to punish |