得寸进尺

dé cùn jìn chǐ

  • Meaning

    Literal

    Get a 寸 and want a 尺 (see notes)

    Usage

    Indicates that one is greedy and insatiable; that one's hopes desires get increasingly large

  • Connotation

    Negative

  • Usage Examples

    贪婪的人总是得寸进尺,永不满足 | Tānlán de rén zǒng shì décùnjìnchǐ, yǒng bù mǎnzú
    Greedy people are always looking for more and are never satisfied
    [Source]

    你得了好处就要知足,别再得寸进尺了 | Nǐ dé le hǎochù jiù yào zhīzú, bié zài décùnjìnchǐ le
    When you receive something good, you have to be satisfied with what you have. Don't push for more
    [Source]

  • Equivalents

    English

    None

    Chinese

    得步进步 (dé bù jìn bù)

  • Entry Notes

    A 寸 and a 尺 are both traditional units of length. A 寸 is equal to 3.33 cm or 1.31 inches, while a 尺 is equal to 0.33 meters or 1.09 feet

  • Origin

    《道德经》(Dào Dé Jīng), a sacred Daoist text written by Daoism founder 老子 (Lǎo Zǐ)

  • Story

    None? I can find two sources that suggest this chengyu has a story associated with it, while my other usual sources suggest there is no story. As such, I will not be translating the story here

  • Citations and Helpful Resources

    • 汉语成语小词典 (hànyǔ chéngyǔ xiǎo cídiǎn)
    • 现代汉语规范词典 (xiàndài hànyǔ guīfàn cídiǎn)
    • 多功能成语词典 (duō gōngnéng chéngyǔ cídiǎn)
    • 汉语大词典 (hànyǔ dà cídiǎn)
    • ABC Chinese-English Comprehensive Dictionary
    • Pleco Basic Chinese-English Dictionary
    • 百度百科[x]
    • 汉语大词典[x]
    • 国家教育研究院[x]