水淺養不住大魚

水浅养不住大鱼
shuǐqiǎnyǎngbùzhùdàyú
  1. lit. shallow waters cannot harbor big fish (idiom)
  2. fig. ambitious, talented people cannot reach their full potential in a small organization

CEDICT

Entry Composition

1 水 shuǐ
  1. water
  2. (after a name) ... River
  3. to swim (used mostly in 會水 huìshuǐ and 水性 shuǐxìng)
  4. (coll.) lacking in substance; shoddy
  5. (bound form) additional cost; extra income
  6. classifier for washings of a garment
2 淺 qiǎn
  1. shallow
  2. light (color)
3 養 yǎng
  1. to raise (animals)
  2. to bring up (children)
  3. to keep (pets)
  4. to support
  5. to give birth
4 不住 bùzhù
  1. (verb complement) unable to firmly or securely (grasp, recall etc)
  2. repeatedly; continuously; constantly
5 大魚 dàyú
  1. (figurative) a valuable person or thing that is being searched for
  2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see 大, 魚 /鱼 (yú). ("big fish")
  3. a valuable person or thing that is being searched for