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虎穴 (hǔ xué) — tiger's den; a dangerous or risky place

Definition

A chengyu element meaning 'tiger's den' — a metaphor for an extremely dangerous place. Almost always used in the set phrase 不入虎穴，焉得虎子 ('nothing ventured, nothing gained').

noun
tiger's dena dangerous or risky place
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 虎穴，。
    Tàn xiǎn duì shēn rù hǔ xué, xún zhǎo zhēn xī yào cái.
    The expedition went deep into the tiger's den to find rare medicinal herbs.
  • 虎穴，。
    Nà ge dì fāng shì fàn zuì fèn zǐ de hǔ xué, fēi cháng wēi xiǎn.
    That place is a den of criminals, extremely dangerous.
  • 虎穴，，。
    Bú rù hǔ xué, yān dé hǔ zǐ, yào xiǎng chéng gōng bì xū mào xiǎn.
    Nothing ventured, nothing gained; to succeed you must take risks.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

虎hǔtiger
穴xuéden

虎 names the animal, and 穴 is its den.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

虎 originally drew a tiger's head. Its body disappeared, and the legs and tail became the lower part.

Open 虎 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

穴 possibly comes from a picture of a cave entrance or a door flap, matching meanings such as cave and hole.

Open 穴 →
Appears in
Animals & MammalsSafety & Danger

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