fùcháowúwánluǎn

覆巢无完卵

Word · NounTraditional覆巢無完卵

when the nest is overturned, no egg is unbroken; shared destruction

Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma

Meanings

1 sense · 3 examples
1.

noun

when the nest is overturned, no egg remains unbroken; fig. when the whole is destroyed, the individual cannot survive

literary

Often used to describe situations where a collective disaster affects all members, leaving no one unscathed. Derived from a historical anecdote in 《世说新语》.

Dí敌
jūn军
gōng攻
pò破
chéng城
chí池
 ,
mǎn满
chéng城
bǎi百
xìng姓
zāo遭
yāng殃
 ,
zhēn真
shì是
fù覆
cháo巢
wú无
wán完
luǎn卵
 。

When the enemy army breached the city, all the people suffered disaster; truly, when the nest is overturned, no egg is unbroken.

Gōng公
sī司
yī一
dàn旦
pò破
chǎn产
 ,
suǒ所
yǒu有
yuán员
gōng工
dōu都
jiāng将
shī失
yè业
 ,
fù覆
cháo巢
zhī之
xià下
wú无
wán完
luǎn卵
 。

Once the company goes bankrupt, all employees will lose their jobs; when the nest is overturned, no egg remains unbroken.

Show 1 more example
Zài在
nà那
gè个
dòng动
dàng荡
de的
nián年
dài代
 ,
jiā家
zú族
bài败
luò落
 ,
chéng成
yuán员
sì四
sàn散
 ,
zhèng正
yìng应
le了
fù覆
cháo巢
wú无
wán完
luǎn卵
de的
gǔ古
xùn训
 。

In those turbulent times, the family declined and its members scattered, embodying the old saying that when the nest is overturned, no egg is unbroken.