叶公好龙

葉公好龍

yègōng-hàolóng

idiom

Meanings

1 Lord Ye's love of dragons
2 professed love for something one actually fears

Characters

Examples

HSK 5

有些人叶公好龙，嘴上谈改革，真到改革时又反对。

Yǒuxiē rén yègōng-hàolóng, zuǐ shang tán gǎigé, zhēn dào gǎigé shí yòu fǎnduì.

Some people only love reform in words; when real reform comes, they oppose it.

HSK 7-9

他总说喜欢冒险，真遇到危险就躲，简直是叶公好龙。

Tā zǒng shuō xǐhuan màoxiǎn, zhēn yùdào wēixiǎn jiù duǒ, jiǎnzhí shì yègōng-hàolóng.

He always says he loves adventure, but hides at the first sign of danger, classic Lord Ye and the dragon.

Tips

history

From 刘向《新序·杂事》: Lord Ye (叶公) of Chu decorated his house with dragon carvings. When a real dragon heard of his devotion and came to visit, poking its head through the window, Lord Ye fled in terror.

Stroke Order

叶 yè

公 gōng

好 hǎo

龙 lóng