Talk:燕雀安知鴻鵠志

Modern 燕雀 is brambling. Here, 燕雀 is used synecdochally. It is more likely a collective term for 燕 (swallow) and 雀 (sparrow), meaning ordinary birds (hence humans). 60.240.101.246 21:54, 21 February 2011 (UTC)
 * I'm so glad you posted a comment. It's easy sometimes to get stuck in a certain mindset when your translating, until someone like you points out the obvious.  Originally, I was so focused on trying to find the exact English equivalent for 燕雀, that I didn't stop to think that it might have been used in a more generic sense.  After reading your post, I researched the matter some more and have now decided to go with "little songbird" and "grand swan."  Let me know if you like it better, and thanks for the feedback.  -- A-cai 01:25, 22 February 2011 (UTC)