🪲 螳螂捕蝉，黄雀在后 táng láng bǔ chán, huáng què zài hòu – Focused on Gain, Blind to Danger
🔍 What It Means
螳螂捕蝉 (táng láng bǔ chán), 黄雀在后 (huáng què zài hòu) literally means “the mantis catches the cicada, but the oriole is behind.”
Word-for-word:
螳螂 (táng láng) – mantis捕 (bǔ) – to catch蝉 (chán) – cicada黄雀 (huáng què) – oriole (a bird)在后 (zài hòu) – behind
It describes someone so focused on an immediate gain that they don’t notice a bigger danger coming from behind.
In English, it’s like saying:
👀 “Blinded by greed”🎯 “Only seeing the prize, not the risk”🪤 “Like a trap behind the bait”
🏺 Where It Comes From
In ancient China, a story tells of a mantis spotting a cicada.
Hungry, the mantis crept forward — ready to grab the cicada.
But behind the mantis, a yellow oriole bird silently watched — planning to catch the mantis!
The mantis only saw the cicada.
It didn’t know it was being hunted too.
This gave birth to the idiom:
螳螂捕蝉，黄雀在后(táng láng bǔ chán, huáng què zài hòu)Focused on gain, blind to danger
💬 How to Use It
Use 螳螂捕蝉，黄雀在后 when someone is so focused on getting something that they don’t notice the bigger threat.
❌ Negative tone – warning about shortsightedness
✅ Often used in politics, business, personal caution stories
🎯 Real Examples
1. 他忙着抢客户，没注意到自己的公司被收购了，真是螳螂捕蝉，黄雀在后。
Tā máng zhe qiǎng kèhù, méi zhùyì dào zìjǐ de gōngsī bèi shōugòu le, zhēn shì táng láng bǔ chán, huáng què zài hòu.
👉 He focused on stealing clients, but didn’t see his own company being bought out — truly like the mantis and the oriole.
2. 政客互相攻击，却没看到另一个政党已经准备夺权，螳螂捕蝉，黄雀在后。
Zhèngkè hùxiāng gōngjī, què méi kàn dào lìng yí ge zhèngdǎng yǐjīng zhǔnbèi duóquán, táng láng bǔ chán, huáng què zài hòu.
👉 Politicians attack each other, but miss the rival party preparing to take power — mantis, cicada, and oriole again!
⚠️ Common Mistakes (Watch Out!)
❌ Mistake: Using it just to mean “someone failed”
✅ Correct: It must involve someone gaining something while unaware of bigger danger behind them
💡 Memory Tip
Imagine a mantis slowly approaching a cicada.
Just as it’s about to grab the cicada… a bird swoops in from behind and grabs the mantis!
That’s 螳螂捕蝉，黄雀在后 — being so close to a win but missing the real threat.
🧩 Interactive Practice
Translate this sentence into English:
那个商人太专注打折活动，没发现竞争对手在暗中开新店，螳螂捕蝉，黄雀在后！
Answer:
The businessman focused too much on the discount event, and didn’t see the competitor secretly opening new stores — mantis catches cicada, oriole behind!
🌟 Final Thoughts
In life, it’s easy to focus only on short-term success.
But true wisdom is looking behind the target — and spotting the hidden risks.
👉 Ask yourself: Am I seeing just the cicada… or also the oriole?
👉 Stay tuned for the next idiom in this series!
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