燕雀焉知鴻鵠之志

lit. can the sparrow and swallow know the will of the great swan? (idiom); fig. how can we small fry predict the ambitions of the great?

Yan, a vassal state of Zhou in modern Hebei and Liaoning / north Hebei / the four Yan kingdoms of the Sixteen Kingdoms, namely: Former Yan 前燕[Qian2 Yan1] (337-370), Later Yan 後燕|后燕[Hou4 Yan1] (384-409), Southern Yan 南燕[Nan2 Yan1] (398-410), Northern Yan 北燕[Bei3 Yan1] (409-436) / surname Yan

swallow (family Hirundinidae) / old variant of 宴[yan4]

variant of 燕[yan4]

(bird species of China) brambling (Fringilla montifringilla) / (fig.) small fry

a freckle / lentigo

(bound form) small bird / sparrow / also pr. [qiao3]

where / how

(literary) how is one to know?

to know / to be aware

eastern bean goose / great / large

swan / person with noble aspirations

center or bull's eye of an archery target (old) / goal / target

swan

(possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的[de5]) / him / her / it

aspiration / ambition / the will

sign / mark / to record / to write a footnote