p8nda
p8nda BETA
Home Dictionary Discord

朝三暮四

zhāosān-mùsì
idiom HSK 7 #43,537

Meanings

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

Characters

朝
zhāo
morning
三
sān
three
暮
mù
evening; dusk
四
sì
four
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 zhāosān-mùsì, 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 bù néng zhāosān-mùsì, yào yǒushǐ-yǒuzhōng.
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