又想当婊子又想立牌坊

又想當婊子又想立牌坊

yòuxiǎngdāngbiǎoziyòuxiǎnglìpáifāng

idiom vulgar

Meanings

1 to want to be a whore and have a chastity arch built in your honor (idiom)
2 to want to have your cake and eat it too
3 to want bad behavior AND a good reputation

Characters

to erect; set up

archway; memorial arch

Examples

他又想拿钱又想当好人，真是又想当婊子又想立牌坊。

Tā yòu xiǎng ná qián yòu xiǎng dāng hǎorén, zhēn shì yòu xiǎng dāng biǎozi yòu xiǎng lì páifāng.

He wants the money AND wants to look like the good guy — classic case of wanting to be a whore and have a chastity arch built in your honor.

别又想当婊子又想立牌坊，做了选择就承担后果。

Bié yòu xiǎng dāng biǎozi yòu xiǎng lì páifāng, zuòle xuǎnzé jiù chéngdān hòuguǒ.

Don't try to have it both ways — once you make the choice, own the consequences.

Tips

history

牌坊 (pái-fāng) refers to memorial arches built in imperial China to honor virtues — most famously the 贞节牌坊 (zhēn-jié pái-fāng, chastity arch) erected for widows who never remarried. The idiom mocks the impossibility of earning that honor while living as a 婊子 (biǎo-zi, prostitute).

register

Crude / colloquial. 婊子 is a strong vulgarity (whore/bitch), so the idiom carries real bite — use it for genuine hypocrisy, not mild contradictions. A milder equivalent is 既要…又要… (jì-yào… yòu-yào…, 'wanting both X and Y').

Stroke Order

又 yòu

想 xiǎng

当 dāng

婊 biǎo

子 zǐ

立 lì

牌 pái

坊 fāng