🌱 拔苗助长 bá miáo zhù zhǎng – Ruin Growth by Rushing It

🌱 拔苗助长 bá miáo zhù zhǎng – Ruin Growth by Rushing It


🔍 What It Means

拔苗助长 (bá miáo zhù zhǎng) literally means “pull up the seedlings to help them grow.”

Word-for-word:

  • 拔 (bá) – to pull
  • 苗 (miáo) – seedling
  • 助 (zhù) – to help
  • 长 (zhǎng) – to grow

It describes trying to rush progress, but instead causing harm.

In English, we might say “more haste, less speed” or “you can’t rush growth.”

🏺 Where It Comes From

This idiom comes from an old Chinese story:

A farmer was worried that the rice seedlings in his field were growing too slowly.

One day, he had an idea: “Why not pull them up a little bit?”

So he went into the field and pulled each seedling a little higher.

At the end of the day, he was very tired but proud of himself.

He told his son: “Today I helped all the seedlings grow!”

But the next morning… all the seedlings were dead. 😢

📚 How to Use It

Use 拔苗助长 (bá miáo zhù zhǎng) when someone rushes progress or forces results — and ends up hurting the outcome.

  • ❌ It’s usually negative.
  • 🗣 Often used to warn: “Don’t push too hard too soon.”

🎯 Real Examples

1. 爸爸每天让他学十个小时的汉语，这样反而是拔苗助长。

  • Bàba měitiān ràng tā xué shí ge xiǎoshí de Hànyǔ, zhèyàng fǎn’ér shì bámiáozhùzhǎng.
  • 👉🏼 His dad makes him study Chinese 10 hours a day. That’s actually doing more harm than good.


2. 做生意不能急，要一步一步来，不能拔苗助长。

  • Zuò shēngyì bù néng jí, yào yíbù yíbù lái, bùnéng bámiáozhùzhǎng.
  • → You can’t rush business. You need to take it step by step — don’t try to force success.

⚠️ Common Mistakes (Watch Out!)

  • ❌ Mistake: Thinking this idiom is about helping.
  • ✅ Correct: It means trying to help, but actually harming progress.

💡 Memory Tip

Picture a farmer pulling on little plants… trying to make them grow faster. 🌱✋

But they die instead.

This image helps you remember: don’t rush what needs time.

✍🏻 Interactive Practice

Translate this sentence into English:

  • 他每天都给孩子安排太多课程，这样会拔苗助长。

Answer:

  • He arranges too many classes for his child every day. This will only harm their growth by pushing too hard.

🌟 Final Thoughts

拔苗助长 teaches an important message: patience brings real growth.

Have you ever tried to improve something too fast… and made it worse?

Whether you’re learning Chinese or planting real seeds 🌾 —

Slow and steady often wins the race.

👉 Stay tuned for the next idiom in this blog series!