🪲 螳螂捕蝉，黄雀在后 táng láng bǔ chán, huáng què zài hòu – Focused on Gain, Blind to Danger

🪲 螳螂捕蝉，黄雀在后 táng láng bǔ chán, huáng què zài hòu – Focused on Gain, Blind to Danger

🔍 What It Means

螳螂捕蝉 (táng láng bǔ chán), 黄雀在后 (huáng què zài hòu) literally means “the mantis catches the cicada, but the oriole is behind.”


Word-for-word:

  • 螳螂 (táng láng) – mantis
  • 捕 (bǔ) – to catch
  • 蝉 (chán) – cicada
  • 黄雀 (huáng què) – oriole (a bird)
  • 在后 (zài hòu) – behind


It describes someone so focused on an immediate gain that they don’t notice a bigger danger coming from behind.


In English, it’s like saying:

  • 👀 “Blinded by greed”
  • 🎯 “Only seeing the prize, not the risk”
  • 🪤 “Like a trap behind the bait”

🏺 Where It Comes From

In ancient China, a story tells of a mantis spotting a cicada.

Hungry, the mantis crept forward — ready to grab the cicada.

But behind the mantis, a yellow oriole bird silently watched — planning to catch the mantis!

The mantis only saw the cicada.

It didn’t know it was being hunted too.


This gave birth to the idiom:


  • 螳螂捕蝉，黄雀在后

    (táng láng bǔ chán, huáng què zài hòu)

    Focused on gain, blind to danger

💬 How to Use It

Use 螳螂捕蝉，黄雀在后 when someone is so focused on getting something that they don’t notice the bigger threat.

  • ❌ Negative tone – warning about shortsightedness
  • ✅ Often used in politics, business, personal caution stories

🎯 Real Examples

1. 他忙着抢客户，没注意到自己的公司被收购了，真是螳螂捕蝉，黄雀在后。

  • Tā máng zhe qiǎng kèhù, méi zhùyì dào zìjǐ de gōngsī bèi shōugòu le, zhēn shì táng láng bǔ chán, huáng què zài hòu.
  • 👉 He focused on stealing clients, but didn’t see his own company being bought out — truly like the mantis and the oriole.


2. 政客互相攻击，却没看到另一个政党已经准备夺权，螳螂捕蝉，黄雀在后。

  • Zhèngkè hùxiāng gōngjī, què méi kàn dào lìng yí ge zhèngdǎng yǐjīng zhǔnbèi duóquán, táng láng bǔ chán, huáng què zài hòu.
  • 👉 Politicians attack each other, but miss the rival party preparing to take power — mantis, cicada, and oriole again!

⚠️ Common Mistakes (Watch Out!)

  • ❌ Mistake: Using it just to mean “someone failed”
  • ✅ Correct: It must involve someone gaining something while unaware of bigger danger behind them

💡 Memory Tip

Image

Imagine a mantis slowly approaching a cicada.

Just as it’s about to grab the cicada… a bird swoops in from behind and grabs the mantis!

That’s 螳螂捕蝉，黄雀在后 — being so close to a win but missing the real threat.

🧩 Interactive Practice

Translate this sentence into English:

  • 那个商人太专注打折活动，没发现竞争对手在暗中开新店，螳螂捕蝉，黄雀在后！

Answer:

  • The businessman focused too much on the discount event, and didn’t see the competitor secretly opening new stores — mantis catches cicada, oriole behind!

🌟 Final Thoughts

In life, it’s easy to focus only on short-term success.

But true wisdom is looking behind the target — and spotting the hidden risks.

👉 Ask yourself: Am I seeing just the cicada… or also the oriole?


👉 Stay tuned for the next idiom in this series!