得寸进尺 dé cùn jìn chǐ to get an inch and want a foot

Explanation

“得寸进尺”的意思是，得到了一寸，还想再进一尺，比喻贪心不足，有了小的，又要大的。这个成语是贬义词，用来批评那些贪得无厌的人。

"To get an inch and want a foot" means that after getting something small, you still want more. It is a metaphor for being greedy and never satisfied. This idiom is derogatory and is used to criticize people who are greedy.

Origin Story

从前，有一个国王，他非常喜欢收集奇珍异宝，为此，他派出了无数的探险家去寻找珍宝。有一天，一位探险家从遥远的地方带回来一块价值连城的宝石。国王高兴极了，他把这块宝石珍藏在自己的宝库里。不久后，国王又听说在更远的地方有一座更大的宝石矿。他兴奋地命令这位探险家再去寻找。探险家再次出发，历尽艰辛，终于找到了那座宝石矿。他满载而归，国王看到那么多珍贵的宝石，高兴得合不拢嘴。可是，国王并没有满足，他指着宝石矿说：“这只是一个小小的矿，我相信，在更远的地方一定还有更大的宝石矿！”于是，国王又派探险家继续寻找，这一次，探险家去了更遥远的地方，但是他什么也没找到。国王失望极了，他对探险家说：“你太让我失望了！我明明告诉你，那里一定有更大的宝石矿，你怎么就什么也没找到呢？”探险家说：“陛下，您太贪心了！您得到了这么多的宝石，还想要更多，难道您不知道知足常乐的道理吗？”国王听了探险家的话，终于醒悟过来，他明白了，贪心不足，只会让自己永远陷入无尽的欲望之中。

cóng qián, yǒu yī ge guó wáng, tā fēi cháng xǐ huan shōu jí qí zhēn yì bǎo, wèi cǐ, tā pài chū le wú shù de tàn xiǎn jiā qù xún zhǎo zhēn bǎo. yǒu yī tiān, yī wèi tàn xiǎn jiā cóng yáo yuǎn de dì fāng dài huí lái yī kuài jià zhí lián chéng de bǎo shí. guó wáng gāo xìng jí le, tā bǎ zhè kuài bǎo shí zhēn cáng zài zì jǐ de bǎo kù lǐ. bù jiǔ hòu, guó wáng yòu tīng shuō zài gèng yuǎn de dì fāng yǒu yī zuò gèng dà de bǎo shí kuàng. tā xīng fèn de mìng lìng zhè wèi tàn xiǎn jiā zài qù xún zhǎo. tàn xiǎn jiā zài cì chū fā, lì jìn jiān xīn, zhōng yú zhǎo dào le nà zuò bǎo shí kuàng. tā mǎn zài ér guī, guó wáng kàn dào nà me duō zhēn guì de bǎo shí, gāo xìng de hé bù lóng zuǐ. kě shì, guó wáng bìng méi yǒu mǎn zú, tā zhǐ zhe bǎo shí kuàng shuō: “zhè zhǐ shì yī ge xiǎo xiǎo de kuàng, wǒ xiāngxìn, zài gèng yuǎn de dì fāng yī dìng hái yǒu gèng dà de bǎo shí kuàng!” yú shì, guó wáng yòu pài tàn xiǎn jiā jì xù xún zhǎo, zhè yī cì, tàn xiǎn jiā qù le gèng yáo yuǎn de dì fāng, dàn shì tā shén me yě méi zhǎo dào. guó wáng shī wàng jí le, tā duì tàn xiǎn jiā shuō: “nǐ tài ràng wǒ shī wàng le! wǒ míng míng gàosu nǐ, nà lǐ yī dìng yǒu gèng dà de bǎo shí kuàng, nǐ zěn me jiù shén me yě méi zhǎo dào ne?” tàn xiǎn jiā shuō: “bì xià, nín tài tān xīn le! nín dé dào le zhè me duō de bǎo shí, hái xiǎng yào gèng duō, nán dào nín bù zhī dào zhī zú cháng lè de dào lǐ ma?” guó wáng tīng le tàn xiǎn jiā de huà, zhōng yú xǐng wù guò lái, tā míng bai le, tān xīn bù zú, zhǐ huì ràng zì jǐ yǒng yuǎn jiàn rù wú jìn de yù wàng zhī zhōng.

Once upon a time, there was a king who was very fond of collecting rare treasures. To this end, he sent out countless explorers to find them. One day, an explorer brought back a priceless jewel from a faraway land. The king was overjoyed and kept the jewel in his treasury. Soon after, the king heard that there was a larger gemstone mine in an even more distant place. Excited, he ordered the explorer to go find it. The explorer set off again, enduring many hardships, and finally found the gemstone mine. He returned laden with treasures, and the king was delighted to see so many precious gems. However, the king was not satisfied. He pointed to the gemstone mine and said, “This is just a small mine, I believe there must be a larger gemstone mine somewhere even further away!” So the king sent the explorer out again to continue his search. This time, the explorer went to a more distant place, but he found nothing. The king was extremely disappointed and said to the explorer, “You have let me down so much! I told you there was a larger gemstone mine there, why haven't you found anything?” The explorer said, “Your Majesty, you are too greedy! You have so many gems, and you still want more. Don't you know the importance of being content?” The king listened to the explorer's words and finally realized his mistake. He understood that insatiable greed would only plunge him into endless desires.

Usage

这个成语常用来形容那些贪得无厌、不知足的人，常常用来批评人们的贪婪和不满足。

zhè ge chéng yǔ cháng yòng lái xíng róng nà xiē tān dé wú yàn, bù zhī zú de rén, cháng cháng yòng lái pī píng rén men de tān lán hé bù mǎn zú.

This idiom is often used to describe those who are greedy and insatiable, often used to criticize people's greed and dissatisfaction.

Examples

• 他仗着自己是领导，总是得寸进尺，要求我们加班加点完成工作。

  tā zhàng zhe zì jǐ shì lǐng dǎo, zǒng shì dé cùn jìn chǐ, yāo qiú wǒ men jiā bān jiā diǎn wán chéng gōng zuò.

  He always takes advantage of his position as a leader and keeps asking for more, requiring us to work overtime to finish the work.

• 他总是得寸进尺，提出越来越过分的要求。

  tā zǒng shì dé cùn jìn chǐ, tí chū yuè lái yuè guò fèn de yāo qiú.

  He's always getting greedy, making more and more unreasonable demands.

• 这种人得寸进尺，仗着自己有权势就胡作非为。

  zhè zhǒng rén dé cùn jìn chǐ, zhàng zhe zì jǐ yǒu quán shì jiù hú zuò fēi wéi.

  People like this are greedy, they take advantage of their power and do whatever they want.

• 他要求我给他买个新手机，我拒绝了他，但他还是得寸进尺，不断地纠缠我。

  tā yāo qiú wǒ gěi tā mǎi ge xīn shǒu jī, wǒ jù jué le tā, dàn tā hái shì dé cùn jìn chǐ, bù duàn de jiū chán wǒ.

  He asked me to buy him a new phone, I refused him, but he kept on nagging me.

• 他得寸进尺，想要获得更多的利益，却忘记了最初的承诺。

  tā dé cùn jìn chǐ, xiǎng yào huò dé gèng duō de lì yì, què wàng jì le zuì chū de chéng nuò.

  He's getting greedy, wanting more benefits, but he forgets his original promises.

Related Idioms

• 贪得无厌

• 得陇望蜀

• 贪心不足

Opposite Idioms

• 知足常乐

• 心满意足