Our goal is to provide you with free Chinese learning tools. This series highlights idioms and proverbs, full of meaning and adaptable to many contexts. The featured idiom is 「吞舟漏網」, with details below.
Today’s featured Chinese idiom is 「吞舟漏網」, and its meaning and usage are explained below.
Originally it meant a big fish escaping the net, but later it is often used to describe those who commit serious crimes going unpunished. Same as “Swallowing a boat is a leak.”
The Mandarin pronunciation of this idiom is :
tūn zhōu lòu wǎng
while its Cantonese pinyin is :
tan1 jau1 lau6 mong5
The collection of Chinese idioms is enormous, with each one holding its own meaning and purpose. We hope these resources can assist you in better understanding and learning Chinese.
