General Chinese

Learn Mandarin Chinese Idiom: 守株待兔 (Shǒuzhūdàitù) To Stand by a Tree Stump Waiting for a Hare (Intermediate)

Key Learning Point (Preview):

待 (dài): v. to wait/to wait for

Cóngqián, yǒu yí gè nóngfū.
   从前，    有  一 个   农夫。

Once upon a time, there was a farmer.

Yì tiān, zài  tā gēngtián de shíhou, hūrán pǎo guò lái  yì zhī  yětù,
一 天，在  他   耕田     的   时候， 忽然    跑    过  来  一 只 野兔，
qiàhǎo pèng zài yí gè shùzhuāng shàng, bózi  zhé duàn sǐ le.
  恰好     碰    在 一 个      树桩         上，  脖子  折   断   死 了。

One day, while he was working in the fields, he saw a hare run into a tree stump accidentally and die of a broken neck.

Nóngfū bǎ tùzi  shí huí jiā qù, měi měi de chī   le  yí dùn tùròu.
  农夫   把 兔子 拾  回 家 去，美 美   地  吃   了 一 顿 兔肉。

The farmer took the hare home and cooked a delicious meal for himself.

Dāng wǎn, tā  jiù xiǎng: "wǒ hébì xīnxīnkǔkǔ de zhòngdì ne?
  当     晚，他 就   想：“我 何必 辛辛苦苦   的    种地   呢？
Měi tiān  zài shùzhuāng páng děngzhe jiǎn zhuàng sǐ  de  yětù  jiù hǎo le."
  每 天    在        树桩       旁      等着     捡     撞      死  的 野兔   就 好 了”。

That night he thought: "I needn't work so hard. All I have to do is wait every day by the stump to pick up the hare that runs into it."

Yúshì tā cóngcǐ bú zài gēnzhòng, měi tiān zài  shùzhuāng páng děngdài yětù de dàolái.
 于是 他   从此  不 再      耕种，     每 天   在         树桩       旁      等待   野兔  的 到来。

So from then on he gave up farming, and stood by the tree stump waiting for the hare to come and run into it.

Dànshì, cóng nà yǐhòu, tā zài méiyǒu fāxiàn yì zhī  yětù zhuàng zài shùzhuāng shàng.
  但是， 从    那 以后，他 再    没有   发现 一 只  野兔    撞      在       树桩        上。

But from then on, he never saw another hare run into the tree stump.

The moral: We shouldn't just wait for a stroke of luck. If we want to do something, we should work hard at it, just like the saying goes, "No pain, no gain."

Key Learning Point:

待(dài): v. to wait/to wait for

We often use "等待(děngdài)" instead of "待(dài)" to express the meaning of "to wait/to wait for." In spoken Chinese, we often say "等(děng)," which is short for "等待(děngdài)." "等待(děngdài)" is more formal than "等(děng)."

Example:

Nǐ hǎohao xuéxí hànyǔ , wǒ děngdài nǐ tōngguò hànyǔ shuǐpíng kǎoshì de hǎo xiāoxi. 
你 好好     学习 汉语， 我    等待    你      通过    汉语      水平    考试     的   好 消息。

Learn Mandarin Chinese with all your heart. I am waiting for the good news of you passing HSK test.

   Duìbùqǐ, ràng nǐ děng le wǒ zhème cháng shíjiān.
A: 对不起，让   你  等    了  我    这么    长       时间。

  I am sorry to have kept you waiting so long.

   Méi guānxi.
B: 没    关系。

   Never mind.

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