# 蚍蜉撼树

pí fú hàn shù

Overestimate one’s ability against something far stronger

## Meaning & wording

**Literally:** An ant tries to shake a tree

**Traditional Chinese:** 蚍蜉撼樹

**Register:** Formal · literary

[Choices & judgment](https://chinese-idioms.yudis.dev/idioms/topics/decisions)

## When to use it

Describe a dramatically unequal challenge.

Can wrongly dismiss determined collective effort.

## Understanding the expression

A tiny insect tries to move a tree vastly larger than itself. The image criticizes a mismatch between ambition and actual power, especially when the challenger ignores that imbalance. It is often used contemptuously about an opponent. Yet scale alone does not determine every outcome: cooperation, preparation, and changed conditions can alter what is possible. The phrase describes the speaker’s assessment of a challenge, rather than proving that resistance must always fail.

## Examples

单靠一人拆除巨石，像蚍蜉撼树。

### Traditional Chinese

單靠一人拆除巨石，像蚍蜉撼樹。

dān kào yì rén chāi chú jù shí ， xiàng pí fú hàn shù 。

Trying to remove the giant rock alone is like an ant shaking a tree.

他嘲笑小队的挑战是蚍蜉撼树。

### Traditional Chinese

他嘲笑小隊的挑戰是蚍蜉撼樹。

tā cháo xiào xiǎo duì de tiǎo zhàn shì pí fú hàn shù 。

He mocked the small team’s challenge as hopelessly unequal.

没有资金硬拼巨头，无异于蚍蜉撼树。

### Traditional Chinese

沒有資金硬拼巨頭，無異於蚍蜉撼樹。

méi yǒu zī jīn yìng pīn jù tóu ， wú yì yú pí fú hàn shù 。

Competing directly with an industry giant without funding is a vastly unequal challenge.

他们联合起来，不再是蚍蜉撼树。

### Traditional Chinese

他們聯合起來，不再是蚍蜉撼樹。

tā men lián hé qǐ lái ， bú zài shì pí fú hàn shù 。

By joining forces, they were no longer facing a hopelessly unequal challenge.

## Sources & reference checks

Original explanations and examples from Chinese Idioms Almanac. Source-checked October 6, 2026.

- [CC-CEDICT · forms & pronunciation](https://www.mdbg.net/chinese/dictionary?page=worddict&wdqb=%E8%9A%8D%E8%9C%89%E6%92%BC%E6%A8%B9)

- [Ministry of Education · 成語典](https://dict.idioms.moe.edu.tw/idiomView.jsp?ID=907&webMd=1&la=0)

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