吃不到葡萄说葡萄酸

吃不到葡萄說葡萄酸
chībùdàopútáoshuōpútáosuān
phrase

Meanings

  1. 1 sour grapes (proverb based on Aesop's fable)
  2. 2 to disparage what one cannot have

Examples

Tā méi kǎo shàng nà suǒ dàxué, jiù kāishǐ pīpíng tā, zhēn shì chībùdàopútáoshuōpútáosuān.
He didn't get into that university and started criticizing it — pure sour grapes.
Bié chībùdàopútáoshuōpútáosuān le, chéngrèn rénjiā bǐ nǐ qiáng ba.
Stop with the sour grapes and just admit they're better than you.

Tips

culture
Direct calque of Aesop's 'The Fox and the Grapes' (狐狸葡萄). The fable was translated into Chinese by Jesuit missionaries in the late Ming and entered colloquial use, making this proverb a rare clear-cut Western import.
usage
Often used in conversation to call out someone's transparent jealousy. Mildly mocking; you can say it about yourself self-deprecatingly: 不到葡萄葡萄

Stroke Order

chī
dào
táo
shuō
suān