Meaning: Either choose fish or bear paw, you cannot get both at the same time.

Meaning: It is a metaphor for something that is difficult to choose when everyone wants it. The choice cannot be hesitant. It is more precious to give and take.

Pronunciation: yú hé xióng zhǎng bù kě jiān dé?

Bear paw: the paw of a bear. Bear paw is more precious and tastes more delicious than fish. Food considered precious by the ancients.

Have both: obtain at the same time. Concurrently, doing several things at the same time or possessing several things. < /p>

Translation: I want fish too, usually I want them too. If I can’t get both at the same time, I will give up fish and choose bear’s paw. Extended information

Excerpts from the original text of "Mencius Gaozi 1":

Fish is what I want, and bear's paws are also what I want; you cannot have both, and give up fish. And those who take bear's paws. Life is what I want, and righteousness is what I want. You cannot have both, and you have to sacrifice life for righteousness. Life is what I want, and what I want is more than life, so I won’t get it; death is also what I hate, and what I hate is more than the dead, so I won’t avoid suffering from it.

Translation:

I also want the fish, and I also want the bear's paw; if I cannot get both at the same time, I will give up the fish and choose the bear's paw. I want life, and I also want justice; if I cannot get both at the same time, I will give up my life and choose justice.

Of course I want life, but there are things more important than life, so I will not live in an ignoble existence; of course I hate death, but the things I hate are more terrible than death, so even disasters are Don't want to avoid it.