Some Taiwanese Proverbs About Roosters and Chickens

Happy New Year--the Year of the Rooster! I hope you enjoy the following sampling of Taiwanese proverbs about hens, roosters, chicks, and chickens in general selected for the new year.

1. 雞嘴變鴨嘴 The mouth of the chicken turns into the mouth of a duck. (Said of someone who first       speaks forcefully, determinedly, even stubbornly but who then ends up being unable to speak at 
    all.)

2. 雞母帶子輕鬆， 雞公帶子拖帆 The hen is relaxed taking care of the chick, while the rooster
    finds doing so tough going. (Said of an individual who takes on a task for which he/she is 
    unqualified. Think of the Norwegian folktale "The Husband Who was to Mind the House.")

3. 雞仔腸， 鳥仔肚 Chicken intestine (but) bird stomach. (Said of situations, problems that cannot
    be remedied.) 

4. 雞母屎， 半黑白 Chicken droppings are black and white. (Describing one who is irresolute, one
    who lacks a point of view.)
   
5. 有看雞， 沒看人 To see the chicken but not see the person. (Said of someone who is "a work in
     progress," someone with potential, like one who is still "a diamond in the rough.")

6. 大猴哄雞 The big monkey frightens the chicken. (Describing someone without forbearance or 
    tolerance.)

7. 偷掠雞也得了米 A poached chicken ending up with a grain of rice. (Said of someone 
    encountering a great stroke of luck.)

8. 曹操吃雞筋--食之無味， 棄之可惜 Cao Cao's eating chicken muscle--a flavorless thing to
    eat, yet throwing it away would be a pity. (Cao Cao, the archvillain from The Romance of the
    Three Kingdoms, is often encountered in proverbs. This proverb reflects the desire to 
    "have things both ways" but faced with the reality that this isn't possible, as well as wanting
     to hold onto things of little or no value.)

from

台灣歇後語 [Taiwanese Folk Similes], Wu Reixing, ed. Tainan: Duanbo, 2002; 最新俗成語智慧
[Wisdom From the Latest Common Proverbs], Wang Shuixing, ed. New Taipei City: Junjia, 2012;
台灣諺語集成 [Integrated Taiwanese Proverbs], Guan Meifen, ed. Tainan: Wenguo, 2002; www.folktw.com.tw/folksay