树大招风

树大招风

Literally means:

a tall tree catches the wind

Actually means:

a person in high position is liable to be attacked

招风 means attracting others' attention so as to incur discord or trouble.

The phrase means that a tall and exuberant tree has a great resistance to the wind and is liable to be destroyed by the wind. It figuratively means that a person who is famous or shows too much of his abilities are liable to be envied or to incur trouble or discord. Derogatory.

招风，惹人注意而引来是非。大树枝叶太多太大对风的阻力很大，容易被风吹断。

树大招风，比喻一个人名气大了，或太过张扬，容易遭人嫉妒，引来麻烦或招来是非。具有贬义色彩。