虎头蛇尾 (hǔ tóu shé wěi) — to start off strong but fizzle out; a fine start with a poor finish

Definition

A chengyu describing something that starts with great energy but trails off weakly — literally 'tiger's head, snake's tail.' Used to criticize a project, effort, or performance whose beginning doesn't match its ending.

idiom
to start off strong but fizzle outa fine start with a poor finish

Examples

  • 虎头蛇尾，，。
    Tā zuò shì zǒng shì hǔ tóu shé wěi, kāi tóu hěn rèn zhēn, hòu lái jiù bù guǎn le.
    He always starts strong but fizzles out — very serious at the beginning, then he stops caring.
  • 虎头蛇尾，。
    Zhè ge xiàng mù bù néng hǔ tóu shé wěi, yí dìng yào jiān chí dào dǐ.
    This project can't start strong but end weak; we must persist to the end.
  • 虎头蛇尾，，。
    Hěn duō xué shēng xué xí xīn yǔ yán dōu huì hǔ tóu shé wěi, yì kāi shǐ rè qíng hěn gāo, màn màn jiù fàng qì le.
    Many students start learning a new language with great enthusiasm but slowly give up — a classic tiger's head, snake's tail.

Origin

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 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 頭; 头 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
頁頁yèhead
Sound part声符shēngfú
豆
豆dòu頭tóu
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 頭 shows 頁, meaning head, beside 豆 as a sound component; the simplified 头 is a later shorthand.

Open 头 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
虫虫chóng
Sound part声符shēngfú
它
它tā蛇shé
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

蛇 combines 虫 with 它; 它 gives the sound and was also the original form of this character.

Open 蛇 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The form 尾 combines 尸 (person) and 毛 (hair; feather).

Open 尾 →

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