鴻こう鵠こく

noun

large bird; great swan

Literary term for a large bird, often a swan or similar majestic bird, used in classical Chinese and Japanese literature. Contrasts with 燕雀 (small birds) to symbolize greatness vs. mediocrity.

See also: 燕雀

• 「鴻こう鵠こく」は、燕えん雀じゃくのような小こ鳥とりと対たい比ひされる大おおきな鳥とりを指さす。

  「鴻鵠」 refers to a large bird, contrasted with small birds like swallows and sparrows.

noun

great person; hero; magnanimous person

Metaphorical extension from the large bird sense; used in classical contexts to describe a person of great ambition, talent, or magnanimity. Often appears in the idiom 燕雀安んぞ鴻鵠の志を知らんや (How can a small bird understand the ambition of a great swan?).

See also: 燕雀

• 彼かれは燕えん雀じゃくには理り解かいできない鴻こう鵠こくの志こころざしを抱いだいていた。

  He harbored the ambition of a great swan, which small birds could not understand.