魚與熊掌不可兼得 yú yǔ xióng zhǎng bù kě jiān dé

DEFINITIONS

  1. lit. the fish and the bear's paw, you can't have both at the same time (idiom, from Mencius); fig. you must choose one or the other
  2. you can't always get everything you want
  3. you can't have your cake and eat it

CHARACTERS

魚 yú fish; surname; KangXi radical 195
與 yǔ and; with; to; for; give, grant
熊 xióng
HSK 3
a bear; brilliant; bright; surname
掌 zhǎng
HSK 5
palm of hand, sole of foot, paw
不 bù
HSK 1
no, not; un-; negative prefix
可 kě
HSK 2
may, can, -able; possibly
兼 jiān
HSK 5
unite, combine; connect; and
得 dé
HSK 2
obtain, get, gain, acquire