阳奉阴违

陽奉陰違

yángfèng-yīnwéi

idiom #65,275

Meanings

1 outwardly obedient, inwardly defiant
2 to pay lip service while secretly opposing

Characters

yang; visible; outward

to obey; to comply

yin; hidden; secret

to violate; to defy

Examples

HSK 6

他表面上答应，其实是阳奉阴违。

Tā biǎomiànshàng dāying, qíshí shì yángfèng-yīnwéi.

He agreed on the surface, but it was all lip service.

HSK 6

对政策阳奉阴违是不行的。

Duì zhèngcè yángfèng-yīnwéi shì bùxíng de.

You can't pretend to comply with policy while secretly defying it.

HSK 7-9

这种阳奉阴违的作风必须改。

Zhèzhǒng yángfèng-yīnwéi de zuòfēng bìxū gǎi.

This two-faced attitude has to change.

Tips

history

From Li Baojia's late-Qing novel 《官场现形记》 (Officialdom Unmasked), chapter 47: 卜知府阳奉阴违，也就奈何他不得 - 'Prefect Bu complied openly and defied secretly; there was nothing one could do to him.' The 阳/阴 pair is the classical 'bright/dark,' 'public/private.'

culture

A core bureaucratic-culture vice in Chinese political language - a recurring target of anti-corruption campaigns, Party rectification, and imperial censor memorials alike. The flip side of 表里如一 (inside and outside match).

Stroke Order

阳 yáng

奉 fèng

阴 yīn

违 wéi