螳螂捕蝉，黄雀在后

Traditional form:

螳螂捕蟬，黃雀在後

Pinyin (reading):

tánglángbǔchán,huángquèzàihòu

Definitions:

• the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind (idiom, from Daoist classic Zhuangzi 莊子／庄子 ( Zhuāngzǐ)); to pursue a narrow gain while neglecting a greater danger

Characters:

• 螳 - praying mantis
• 螂 - mantis, dung beetle
• 捕 - to arrest, to catch, to seize
• 蝉 - cicada; continuous
• 黄 - yellow; surname
• 雀 - sparrow
• 在 - at, in, on; to exist; used to indicate the present progressive tense
• 后 - after; behind, rear; descendants

Traditional characters:

• 螳 - praying mantis
• 螂 - mantis, dung beetle
• 捕 - to arrest, to catch, to seize
• 蟬 - cicada; continuous
• 黃 - yellow; surname
• 雀 - sparrow
• 在 - at, in, on; to exist; used to indicate the present progressive tense
• 後 - after; behind, rear; descendants