諺語 · a single proverb
人心不足蛇吞象
What does 人心不足蛇吞象 (rén xīn bù zú shé tūn xiàng) mean?
人心不足蛇吞象 (rén xīn bù zú shé tūn xiàng) is a folk proverb (yànyǔ 諺語). Word for word it reads "the human heart is never enough; a snake tries to swallow an elephant." In use it means: Greed is bottomless. The more you get, the more you want, until you choke on it. You reach for it when you want that idea in one breath, and the Fire note it carries is why we hand it to those born in the Year of the Snake.
Literally: "the human heart is never enough; a snake tries to swallow an elephant."
The reading
The snake is a real creature with a real mouth. The elephant is a real creature with a real body. The snake cannot swallow the elephant. But greed says try anyway. Greed is the only appetite that grows faster than the meal.
What kind of proverb it is
Source Folk proverb; traceable to Song dynasty texts including 山海經 commentary
Sits beside
井底之蛙
jǐng dǐ zhī wā
Someone with an extremely narrow view of the world, who mistakes the small circle of sky above the well for the whole sky.
冰凍三尺，非一日之寒
bīng dòng sān chǐ, fēi yī rì zhī hán
Nothing deep-a skill, a habit, a ruin-forms overnight.
心急吃不了熱豆腐
xīn jí chī bù liǎo rè dòu fu
Impatience will not speed things up.
Keep reading
Return to the Proverb Pond to draw another of the eighty-seven, or hear one read aloud. Read the rest of its chapter in Humility & Self-Mastery, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Snake, Year of the Rat, and Year of the Ox.
Questions
Is 人心不足蛇吞象 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 人心不足蛇吞象 (rén xīn bù zú shé tūn xiàng) is a folk proverb (yànyǔ 諺語), and it comes from Folk proverb; traceable to Song dynasty texts including 山海經 commentary. It is living Chinese heritage, given here with per-character pinyin and its source so you can trust the line, not a phrase invented in English.
How do you pronounce 人心不足蛇吞象?
In Mandarin it is rén xīn bù zú shé tūn xiàng. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 人心不足蛇吞象 aloud in Mandarin.