老鼠拖木鍁，大頭在後頭 lǎo shǔ tuō mù xiān ， dà tóu zài hòu tou

the tip of the iceberg

Word data

HSK Not in HSK
Frequency Unknown

Definitions

  1. 1. the tip of the iceberg
  2. 2. when the mice drag a shovel, the biggest thing comes second
  3. 3. the cockroach principle

Characters

Character Meaning
老 lǎo HSK 1
old (of people)
鼠 shǔ HSK 5
mouse; rat
拖 tuō HSK 6
to drag; to delay; to drag on
木 mù HSK 5
tree; wood; wooden
鍁 xiān
shovel
大 dà HSK 1
big; large; great
頭 tóu
head; the top; end
在 zài HSK 1
(located) at; (to be) in
後 hòu
behind; after; later
頭 tou
head; the top; end