📖 Meaning
A metaphor for a place or situation one mistakenly considers safe and secure. It originates from the image of piglets hiding in the gaps between their mother's udder, thighs, and hooves, believing themselves protected from harm. The idiom satirizes a false sense of security rooted in ignorance of lurking danger.
📜 Origin Story
From the Daoist classic 'Zhuangzi' (庄子), chapter 'Xu Wugui' (徐无鬼), composed during the Warring States period by the philosopher Zhuang Zhou. The passage describes piglets seeking shelter in the curves and crevices of their mother's body—between the udder, thighs, and feet—believing these spots to be safe, comfortable dwellings. Zhuangzi uses this image to criticize those who cling to illusory security, oblivious to the precariousness of their actual position.
💡 Example Usage
他自以为隐居乡野如乳间股脚般安全，殊不知大祸将至。
He thought his seclusion in the countryside was as safe as a piglet's hiding spot, unaware that calamity was imminent.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 乳间股脚
- Pinyin: rǔ jiān gǔ jiǎo
- Literal Translation: between, udder, thigh, foot
- Category: Philosophy
- Characters: 4