飞蛾扑火 fēi é pū huǒ Moth to a flame

Explanation

比喻不顾危险，自取灭亡。

A metaphor for disregarding danger and bringing about one's own destruction.

Origin Story

很久以前，在一个宁静的小村庄里，住着一个名叫小雨的女孩。小雨非常喜欢捉萤火虫，每当夜幕降临，她便提着小灯笼，在田野里追逐这些发光的精灵。一天晚上，小雨发现了一只特别大的萤火虫，它发出比其他萤火虫更加明亮的光芒，小雨被深深地吸引住了。她屏住呼吸，小心翼翼地靠近萤火虫，想要把它捉住。但是，当她伸出手去抓萤火虫的时候，萤火虫突然飞了起来，它飞向小雨手中的灯笼，那火焰就像一个巨大的漩涡，把萤火虫吞噬了。小雨看着萤火虫的消失，感到十分惋惜。她意识到，萤火虫是被自己手中的灯火吸引过来的，而灯火也夺去了萤火虫的生命。从此以后，小雨不再追逐萤火虫，她开始关注萤火虫的生存环境，她知道，有些美丽的东西，只能远观，不能亵玩焉。

hěn jiǔ yǐ qián, zài yīgè níng jìng de xiǎo cūn zhuāng lǐ, zhù zhe yīgè míng jiào xiǎo yǔ de nǚ hái. xiǎo yǔ fēi cháng xǐ huan zhuō yíng huǒ chóng, měi dāng yè mù jiàng lín, tā biàn tí zhe xiǎo dēng lóng, zài tián yě lǐ zhuī zhú zhè xiē fā guāng de jīng líng. yī tiān wǎn shang, xiǎo yǔ fā xiàn le yī zhī tè bié dà de yíng huǒ chóng, tā fā chū bǐ qí tā yíng huǒ chóng gèng jiā míng liàng de guāng máng, xiǎo yǔ bèi shēn shēn de xī yǐn zhù le. tā píng zhù hū xī, xiǎo xīn yì yì de kào jìn yíng huǒ chóng, xiǎng yào bǎ tā zhuō zhù. dàn shì, dāng tā shēn chū shǒu qù zhuā yíng huǒ chóng de shí hòu, yíng huǒ chóng tū rán fēi le qǐ lái, tā fēi xiàng xiǎo yǔ shǒu zhōng de dēng lóng, nà huǒ yàn jiù xiàng yīgè jù dà de xuán wō, bǎ yíng huǒ chóng tūn shí le. xiǎo yǔ kàn zhe yíng huǒ chóng de xiāo shī, gǎn dào fēn wèi wán xī. tā yì zhì dào, yíng huǒ chóng shì bèi zì jǐ shǒu zhōng de dēng huǒ xī yǐn guò lái de, ér dēng huǒ yě duó qù le yíng huǒ chóng de shēng mìng. cóng cǐ yǐ hòu, xiǎo yǔ bù zài zhuī zhú yíng huǒ chóng, tā kāi shǐ guān zhù yíng huǒ chóng de shēng cún huán jìng, tā zhī dào, yǒu xiē měi lì de dōng xi, zhǐ néng yuǎn guān, bù néng xiè wán yān.

A long time ago, in a quiet little village, there lived a girl named Xiaoyu. Xiaoyu loved catching fireflies. Whenever night fell, she would take her little lantern and chase these glowing spirits across the fields. One evening, Xiaoyu discovered a particularly large firefly, which shone much brighter than the others. Xiaoyu was deeply fascinated. She held her breath, cautiously approached the firefly, and wanted to catch it. But as she reached out to grab the firefly, it suddenly flew away. It flew towards the lantern in Xiaoyu's hand, the flame was like a huge vortex that swallowed the firefly. Xiaoyu sadly watched the firefly disappear. She realized that the firefly was attracted by the light of her lantern, and this light had extinguished the firefly's life. From that day on, Xiaoyu no longer chased fireflies. She began to care for the fireflies' habitat, because she knew that some beautiful things can only be admired from afar, but not touched.

Usage

常用来比喻不顾一切后果，最终自取灭亡的行为。

cháng yòng lái bǐ yù bù gù yī qiè hòu guǒ, zuì zhōng zì qǔ miè wáng de xíng wéi.

Often used to describe behavior in which one ignores the consequences and ultimately destroys oneself.

Examples

• 他明知不可为而为之，简直是飞蛾扑火！

  tā míng zhī bù kě wéi ér wéi zhī, jiǎn zhí shì fēi é pū huǒ!

  He knows it's impossible, yet he does it anyway, just like a moth to a flame!

• 不要再飞蛾扑火了，你知道你做的一切都是徒劳的！

  bù yào zài fēi é pū huǒ le, nǐ zhī dào nǐ zuò de yī qiè dōu shì tú láo de!

  Don't throw yourself into the fire anymore, you know everything you do is in vain!

Related Idioms

• 自取灭亡

• 螳臂当车

Opposite Idioms

• 明哲保身

• 趋吉避凶