4 characters Idiom and proverb 18 290

We’re sharing free Chinese learning content with you. Idioms and proverbs, full of meaning, are explored in this series. Today, we present 「涸鮒得水」.

In this introduction, we explore the idiom 「涸鮒得水」. Its definition and ways to use it are shown below.

A metaphor for surviving a desperate situation and having something to rely on. Same as “a dry fish finds water”.

The Mandarin pronunciation of this idiom is :

hé fù dé shuǐ

while its Cantonese pinyin is :

kok3 fu6 dak1 seui2

Chinese idioms are vast in number, each carrying unique meanings and usages. With such variety, there’s a lot to learn and appreciate. Hopefully, these resources will aid you on your journey to mastering Chinese.