出头的椽子先烂
chū​tóu​de​chuán​zi​xiān​làn

the nail that sticks out gets hammered down

  • created sense approved 出头的椽子先烂/出頭的椽子先爛 · chū​tóu​de​chuán​zi​xiān​làn · the nail that sticks out gets hammered down — "Initial import from upstream dictionary"

    出头的椽子先烂 / 出頭的椽子先爛

    chū​tóu​de​chuán​zi​xiān​làn

    the nail that sticks out gets hammered down

    Literally "rafters that jut out rot first"; anyone who makes themselves conspicuous will be the first to be targeted for attack or criticism

    出头 (literal) → 出头/出頭 · chū​tóu · to stick out 的 (bound) → 的 · de · [possessive/attributive] 椽子 (literal) → 椽子 · chuán​zi · rafter 先 (literal) → 先 · xiān · first 烂 (literal) → 烂/爛 · làn · to rot

    Changed: simplified, traditional, gloss, definition, pinyin, variant pinyin, variants, separable parts, decomposition

    created sense