📖 Meaning
A metaphor for a narrow mind and a vicious heart. It describes someone who is petty, intolerant, and cruel in their dealings with others, unable to accept or accommodate people different from themselves.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from the classical novel Tian Yu Hua (《天雨花》), a Qing dynasty work of fiction. In Chapter 2, a character is rebuked for her petty and cruel nature, described as having 'chicken intestines and dog belly' — she could not tolerate anyone and had even driven her own daughter-in-law out of the house. The vivid imagery of a chicken's narrow intestines and a dog's belly conveys the idea of a small, spiteful capacity for compassion.
💡 Example Usage
他这人鸡肠狗肚，容不得半点不同意见。
He is so petty and narrow-minded that he cannot tolerate the slightest disagreement.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 鸡肠狗肚
- Pinyin: jī cháng gǒu dù
- Literal Translation: chicken, intestines, dog, belly
- Category: Attitude
- Characters: 4