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鱼与熊掌不可兼得

yú yǔ xióng zhǎng bù kě jiān dé

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Definitions

  1. 1. lit. the fish and the bear's paw, you can't have both at the same time (idiom, from Mencius); fig. you must choose one or the other
  2. 2. you can't always get everything you want
  3. 3. you can't have your cake and eat it

Child Words of 鱼与熊掌不可兼得

熊掌
xióng zhǎng

bear paw (as food)

不可
bù kě

cannot; should not; must not

得
dé

to obtain

兼
jiān

double

可
kě

can

与
yù

to take part in

得
de

structural particle: used after a verb (or adjective as main verb), linking it to following phrase indicating effect, degree, possibility etc

熊
xióng

bear

得
děi

to have to

鱼
yú

fish

不
bù

no; not so

与
yǔ

and

鱼与熊掌
yú yǔ xióng zhǎng

lit. the fish and the bear's paw, you can't have both at the same time (idiom, from Mencius); fig. you must choose one or the other

掌
zhǎng

palm of the hand