一人得道，雞犬升天 yī rén dé dào ， jī quǎn shēng tiān

fig. to ride on sb else's success

Word data

HSK Not in HSK
Frequency Unknown

Definitions

  1. 1. fig. to ride on sb else's success
  2. 2. Once one man gets a government position, all his cronies get in too
  3. 3. lit. when a man achieves the Dao, his poultry and dogs rise to Heaven (idiom)
  4. 4. Once sb has cracked the problem, every Tom, Dick and Harry can do it

Characters

Character Meaning
一 yī HSK 1
one; 1; single
人 rén HSK 1
person; people; man
得 dé HSK 2
link verb to result or degree; to get; must
道 dào HSK 2
to say; to speak; to talk
雞 jī
chicken; fowl; (slang) prostitute
犬 quǎn HSK 6
dog; Kangxi radical 94
升 shēng HSK 5
to ascend; to promote; to rise in rank
天 tiān HSK 1
day; sky; heaven