殃及池鱼

殃及池魚
yāngjíchíyú

short for 城門失火，殃及池魚／城门失火，殃及池鱼 (chéngmén shīhuǒ, yāngjí chíyú, “to suffer as a bystander; to get caught in the crossfire”)

Wiktionary

Entry Composition

1 殃及 yāngjí to bring disaster to
=2 池 Chí surname Chi
=2 池 chí
  1. pond
  2. reservoir
  3. moat
=3 鱼 Yú surname Yu
=3 鱼 yú used in the names of various aquatic animals that are not fish (including abalone 鲍鱼 bàoyú, alligators and crocodiles 鳄鱼 èyú and octopi 章鱼 zhāngyú)

classifiers: 條, 尾

Containing this entry

城门失火，殃及池鱼 chéngménshīhuǒ,yāngjíchíyú
  1. a fire in the city gates is also a calamity for the fish in the moat (idiom); the bystander will also suffer
  2. fig. you can't escape responsibility for your actions
  3. ask not for whom the bell tolls - it tolls for thee