朝三暮四

zhāosān-mùsì

idiom HSK 7-9 #43,537

Meanings

1 fickle; to blow hot and cold
2 to chop and change; inconsistent

Characters

Literally 'three in the morning, four in the evening' — from a fable about a monkey trainer who tricked monkeys by changing when they got their nuts.

Examples

他对女朋友朝三暮四，谁都不喜欢他。

Tā duì nǚpéngyou zhāosānmùsì, shéi dōu bù xǐhuan tā.

He's fickle with girlfriends, and nobody likes him.

做事不能朝三暮四，要有始有终。

Zuòshì bùnéng zhāosānmùsì, yào yǒushǐyǒuzhōng.

You can't keep changing your mind — you need to follow through.

Tips

history

From Zhuangzi: a monkey keeper offered '3 nuts in the morning, 4 at night.' The monkeys were furious. He changed it to '4 in the morning, 3 at night' — and they were delighted. The original parable was about superficial changes, but the modern meaning shifted to describe fickleness.

Stroke Order

朝 cháo

三 sān

暮 mù

四 sì