鞭长莫及 biān cháng mò jí out of reach

Explanation

鞭长莫及，比喻相隔太远，力量达不到。形容事情办不到，或者帮助不了。

The idiom "biān cháng mò jí" means that something is too far away to reach with a whip. It is used to describe the situation that one cannot do something or cannot help.

Origin Story

很久以前，有个名叫张三的人，家住山村，家中贫困。有一天，他听到城里举办了一场盛大的比赛，奖品是一匹高头大马。张三心想，如果能得到这匹马，那自己就能过上好日子了。于是，他便背着简单的行囊，前往城里参加比赛。比赛当天，张三看到参赛的人都是身强力壮的壮汉，而自己又瘦又小，心里有些没底。比赛开始后，张三发现比赛项目都是需要力气才能完成的，比如举石、拔河等等。张三知道自己比不过那些壮汉，于是便跑到比赛场地外围，远远地观看着比赛。张三看到一个参赛者因为用力过猛，不小心将手中的铁锤掉到了地上，而铁锤又滚到了一个小孩的面前。眼看小孩就要被铁锤砸到，张三心急如焚，想要冲上去救助。但是，他离比赛场地太远，而且人群拥挤，他根本无法冲过去。最后，还是旁边的人及时将小孩拉开了，小孩才没有受伤。张三虽然没有救到孩子，但是他的心却一直悬着，因为他的力量鞭长莫及。后来，张三就用这个故事来告诫自己，要量力而行，不要好高骛远。

hěn jiǔ yǐ qián, yǒu gè míng jiào zhāng sān de rén, jiā zhù shān cūn, jiā zhōng pín kùn. yǒu yī tiān, tā tīng dào chéng lǐ jǔ bàn le yī chǎng shèng dà de bǐ sài, jiǎng pǐn shì yī pǐ gāo tóu dà mǎ. zhāng sān xīn xiǎng, rú guǒ néng dé dào zhè pǐ mǎ, nà zì jǐ jiù néng guò shàng hǎo rì zi le. yú shì, tā biàn bèi zhe jiǎn dān de xíng náng, qián wǎng chéng lǐ cān jiā bǐ sài. bǐ sài dāng tiān, zhāng sān kàn dào cān sài de rén dōu shì shēn qiáng lì zhuàng de zhuàng hàn, ér zì jǐ yòu shòu yòu xiǎo, xīn lǐ yǒu xiē méi dǐ. bǐ sài kāi shǐ hòu, zhāng sān fā xiàn bǐ sài xiàng mù dōu shì xū yào lì qi tài néng wán chéng de, bǐ rú jǔ shí, bá hé děng děng. zhāng sān zhī dào zì jǐ bǐ bu guò nà xiē zhuàng hàn, yú shì biàn pǎo dào bǐ sài chǎng dì wài wéi, yuǎn yuǎn de guān kàn zhe bǐ sài. zhāng sān kàn dào yī gè cān sài zhě yīn wèi yòng lì guò mèng, bù xiǎo xīn jiāng shǒu zhōng de tiě chuí diào dào le dì shàng, ér tiě chuí yòu gǔn dào le yī gè xiǎo hái de miàn qián. yǎn kàn xiǎo hái jiù yào bèi tiě chuí zá dào, zhāng sān xīn jí rú fén, xiǎng yào chōng shàng qù jiù zhù. dàn shì, tā lí bǐ sài chǎng dì tài yuǎn, ér qiě rén qún yōng jǐ, tā gēn běn wú fǎ chōng guò qù. zuì hòu, hái shì páng biān de rén jí shí jiāng xiǎo hái lā kāi le, xiǎo hái cái méi yǒu shòu shāng. zhāng sān suī rán méi yǒu jiù dào hái zi, dàn shì tā de xīn què yī zhí xuán zhe, yīn wèi tā de lì liàng biān cháng mò jí. hòu lái, zhāng sān jiù yòng zhè gè gù shì lái gào jiè zì jǐ, yào liàng lì ér xíng, bù yào hǎo gāo wù yuǎn.

Long ago, there was a poor man named Zhang San who lived in a mountain village. One day, he heard that a grand competition was being held in the city, with a prize of a magnificent horse. Zhang San thought to himself, if he could win this horse, he would be able to live a good life. So, he packed his meager belongings and headed for the city to compete. On the day of the competition, Zhang San saw that all the contestants were strong and muscular men, while he was thin and small, and he felt a bit unsure of himself. After the competition began, Zhang San found that all the competition items required strength to complete, such as lifting stones, tug-of-war, and so on. Zhang San knew he couldn't beat those strong men, so he went to the edge of the competition field and watched the competition from afar. Zhang San saw that one contestant, because he was using too much force, accidentally dropped the iron hammer in his hand, and the iron hammer rolled in front of a child. Seeing that the child was about to be hit by the iron hammer, Zhang San was anxious and wanted to rush forward to help. However, he was too far from the competition field, and the crowd was crowded, he couldn't get through at all. In the end, it was the people next to him who pulled the child away in time, so the child was not injured. Although Zhang San did not save the child, his heart was still hanging, because his strength was not enough. Later, Zhang San used this story to warn himself to do things within his capacity and not to be overambitious.

Usage

这个成语主要用来形容能力有限，无法达到目标，或无法给予帮助。

zhè ge chéng yǔ zhǔ yào yòng lái xíng róng néng lì yǒu xiàn, wú fǎ dá dào mù biāo, huò wú fǎ jǐ yǔ bāng zhù.

This idiom is mainly used to describe the situation where one's ability is limited, so one cannot achieve a goal or provide help.

Examples

• 这件事我们鞭长莫及，帮不上忙。

  zhè jiàn shì wǒ men biān cháng mò jí, bāng bu shàng máng.

  We can't do anything about this, our power is limited.

• 面对复杂的局面，我们感到力不从心，鞭长莫及。

  miàn duì fú zá de jú miàn, wǒ men gǎn dào lì bù cóng xīn, biān cháng mò jí.

  We are overwhelmed by the complex situation and can't help.

• 这场战争牵涉到多个国家，我们只能袖手旁观，鞭长莫及。

  zhè chǎng zhàn zhēng qiān shè dào duō gè guó jiā, wǒ men zhǐ néng xiù shǒu páng guān, biān cháng mò jí。

  This war involves several countries, we can only watch and are powerless.

Related Idioms

• 爱莫能助

• 力不从心

Opposite Idioms

• 得心应手

• 轻而易举