宁做鸡头，不做凤尾
nìng​zuò​jī​tóu​bù​zuò​fèng​wěi

better a big fish in a small pond

  • created sense approved 宁做鸡头，不做凤尾/寧做雞頭，不做鳳尾 · nìng​zuò​jī​tóu​bù​zuò​fèng​wěi · better a big fish in a small pond — "Initial import from upstream dictionary"

    宁做鸡头，不做凤尾 / 寧做雞頭，不做鳳尾

    nìng​zuò​jī​tóu​bù​zuò​fèng​wěi

    better a big fish in a small pond

    Literally "rather be a chicken's head than a phoenix's tail"; refers to the preference for being a leader or a standout in a smaller group rather than a minor figure in a larger, more prestigious group.

    宁 (literal) → 宁/寧 · nìng · would rather 做 (literal) → 做 · zuò · to be 鸡头 (literal) → 鸡头/雞頭 · jī​tóu · chicken head ， (non_chinese) 不 (literal) → 不 · bù · not 做 (literal) → 做 · zuò · to be 凤 (literal) → 凤/鳳 · fèng · phoenix 尾 (literal) → 尾 · wěi · end; remainder

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

    created sense