笨鸟先飞
bèn niǎo xiān fēi
Pinyin

Definition

笨鸟先飞
 - 
bèn niǎo xiān fēi
  1. lit. the clumsy bird flies early (idiom); fig. to work hard to compensate for one's limited abilities

Character Decomposition

Related Words (20)

先
xiān
  1. 1 early
  2. 2 prior
  3. 3 former
  4. 4 in advance
  5. 5 first
先生
Xiān sheng
  1. 1 Mister (Mr.)
事先
shì xiān
  1. 1 in advance
  2. 2 before the event
  3. 3 beforehand
  4. 4 prior
优先
yōu xiān
  1. 1 to have priority
  2. 2 to take precedence
先后
xiān hòu
  1. 1 early or late
  2. 2 priority
  3. 3 in succession
  4. 4 one after another
先进
xiān jìn
  1. 1 advanced (technology)
  2. 2 to advance
先锋
xiān fēng
  1. 1 vanguard
  2. 2 pioneer
  3. 3 avant-garde
原先
yuán xiān
  1. 1 originally
  2. 2 original
  3. 3 former
抢先
qiǎng xiān
  1. 1 to rush (to do sth urgent)
  2. 2 to try to be the first
  3. 3 to forestall
祖先
zǔ xiān
  1. 1 ancestor
  2. 2 forebears
笨
bèn
  1. 1 stupid
  2. 2 foolish
  3. 3 silly
  4. 4 slow-witted
  5. 5 clumsy
笨蛋
bèn dàn
  1. 1 fool
  2. 2 idiot
领先
lǐng xiān
  1. 1 to lead
  2. 2 to be in front
首先
shǒu xiān
  1. 1 first (of all)
  2. 2 in the first place
一马当先
yī mǎ dāng xiān
  1. 1 to take the lead
占先
zhàn xiān
  1. 1 to take precedence
先下手为强
xiān xià shǒu wéi qiáng
  1. 1 strike first and gain the upper hand (idiom, martial arts term); Making the first move is an advantage.
先人
xiān rén
  1. 1 ancestors
  2. 2 previous generations
  3. 3 my late father
先令
xiān lìng
  1. 1 shilling (loanword)
先来后到
xiān lái hòu dào
  1. 1 in order of arrival
  2. 2 first come, first served

Idioms (19)

先下手为强
xiān xià shǒu wéi qiáng
  1. 1 strike first and gain the upper hand (idiom, martial arts term); Making the first move is an advantage.
先斩后奏
xiān zhǎn hòu zòu
  1. 1 first decapitate then present your trophy (idiom); act first, report later
先发制人
xiān fā zhì rén
  1. 1 to gain the initiative by striking first (idiom); to preempt
  2. 2 to anticipate
  3. 3 preemptive
先睹为快
xiān dǔ wéi kuài
  1. 1 joy of first experience (idiom)
  2. 2 the pleasure of reading sth for the first time
先礼后兵
xiān lǐ hòu bīng
  1. 1 peaceful measures before using force (idiom); diplomacy before violence
  2. 2 jaw-jaw is better than war-war
兵马未动，粮草先行
bīng mǎ wèi dòng , liáng cǎo xiān xíng
  1. 1 before the troops move, fodder and provisions go first (idiom); logistics comes before military maneuvers
  2. 2 an army marches on its stomach
工欲善其事，必先利其器
gōng yù shàn qí shì , bì xiān lì qí qì
  1. 1 To do a good job, an artisan needs the best tools (idiom). Good tools are prerequisite to the successful execution of a job
拙嘴笨舌
zhuō zuǐ bèn shé
  1. 1 lit. clumsy mouth and broken tongue (idiom); awkward speaker
捷足先登
jié zú xiān dēng
  1. 1 the quick-footed climb up first (idiom)
  2. 2 the early bird catches the worm
  3. 3 first come, first served
敢为人先
gǎn wéi rén xiān
  1. 1 to dare to be first
  2. 2 to pioneer (idiom)
春江水暖鸭先知
chūn jiāng shuǐ nuǎn yā xiān zhī
  1. 1 lit. the duck is the first to know if the spring water is warm (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. an expert in the field knows which way the wind blows
欲善其事，必先利其器
yù shàn qí shì , bì xiān lì qí qì
  1. 1 To do a good job, an artisan needs the best tools (idiom). Good tools are prerequisite to the successful execution of a job
溘先朝露
kè xiān zhāo lù
  1. 1 the morning dew will swiftly dissipate (idiom); fig. ephemeral and precarious nature of human existence
争先恐后
zhēng xiān kǒng hòu
  1. 1 striving to be first and fearing to be last (idiom); outdoing one another
百善孝为先
bǎi shàn xiào wéi xiān
  1. 1 of all virtues filial piety is most important (idiom)
笨鸟先飞
bèn niǎo xiān fēi
  1. 1 lit. the clumsy bird flies early (idiom); fig. to work hard to compensate for one's limited abilities
闻风先遁
wén fēng xiān dùn
  1. 1 to flee at hearing the news (idiom)
身先朝露
shēn xiān zhāo lù
  1. 1 body will go with the morning dew (idiom); fig. ephemeral and precarious nature of human existence
近水楼台先得月
jìn shuǐ lóu tái xiān dé yuè
  1. 1 the pavilion closest to the water enjoys moonlight first (idiom)
  2. 2 to benefit from intimacy with an influential person

Sample Sentences

笨鸟先飞早入林
bènniǎoxiānfēizǎorùlín
Diligence can make up for deficiency.
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我能力不如别人，只好笨鸟先飞，才能早入林。
wǒ nénglì bùrú biéren ，zhǐhǎo bènniǎoxiānfēi ，cáinéng zǎo rù lín 。
I am inferior to others. I have to practice more so I can succeed.
Go to Lesson 
我本来学习非常不好，但是我爸妈常告诉我“笨鸟先飞早入林”。所以我上课的时候就像只出头鸟一样，一直举手回答问题。
wǒ běnlái xuéxí fēicháng bùhǎo ，dànshì wǒ bàmā cháng gàosu wǒ “bènniǎoxiānfēizǎorùlín ”。suǒyǐ wǒ shàngkè de shíhou jiù xiàng zhī chūtóuniǎo yīyàng ，yīzhí jǔshǒu huídá wèntí 。
I didn’t do so well in my studies. But my parents always told me that I could achieve success if I work harder. So I was like a bird sticking its head out when I was in class. I kept raising my hand answering the teacher's questions.
Go to Lesson