Chinese idiom · 成语
临渊羡鱼
Meaning
To envy fish by the abyss; to wish without acting.
Character by character
Origin and story
philosophicalThe Book of Han (汉书), in Dong Zhongshu's biography, quotes an old saying: wanting fish at the water's edge is less useful than stepping back to make a net. Dong applies it to government. Merely hoping for good administration, he argues, is not enough; the necessary changes must actually be made.
Related forms occur in the Huainanzi (淮南子), Shuolin, and the Wenzi (文子), Shangde. These use a riverbank and the making of a fishing net to contrast desire with effective preparation. The idea is an analogy rather than the tale of a named idle fisherman. The familiar four characters describe the unproductive wishing half; the often-added 不如退而结网 supplies the practical alternative.
Sources and further reading
In everyday life
别再临渊羡鱼了，想学吉他，就从每天练十分钟开始。
Stop merely wishing; if you want to learn guitar, start with ten minutes of practice a day.
Often contrasts wanting a result with taking the practical steps needed to obtain it.