ProverbWisdom
Japanese origin
Japanese origin鶏口となるも牛後となるなかれ (Keikou to naru mo gyūgo to naru nakare)
Meaning: Better to lead something small than to follow in something large.
Literally: Rather be the beak of a rooster than the rear of an ox
Example: “大企業の平社員より、小さな会社の社長になりたい。鶏口となるも牛後となるなかれだ。” — I'd rather run a small company than be a junior employee at a big one: better the head of a dog than the tail of a lion.
Equivalents in English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, and Chinese
English: Better be the head of an ass than the tail of a horse.
French: Mieux vaut être tête de chien que queue de lion (literally: Better be the head of a dog than the tail of a lion)
Spanish: Más vale ser cabeza de ratón que cola de león (literally: Better to be a mouse's head than a lion's tail)
German: Lieber der Erste im Dorf als der Zweite in Rom (literally: Rather the first in the village than the second in Rome)
Italian: È meglio essere testa d'anguilla che coda di storione (literally: Better the head of an eel than the tail of a sturgeon)
Chinese: 宁为鸡口，无为牛后 (Nìng wéi jī kǒu, wú wéi niú hòu) (literally: Better a rooster's beak than an ox's rear)
Origin: From the Records of the Grand Historian: the strategist Su Qin urged a small state to resist its giant neighbor, saying better be a rooster's beak than an ox's rear.
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