叶公好龙

葉公好龍
yègōnghàolóng
idiom

Meanings

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

Examples

Tā zǒng shuō xǐhuan màoxiǎn, zhēn yùdào wēixiǎn jiù duǒ, jiǎnzhí shì yègōnghàolóng.
He always says he loves adventure, but hides at the first sign of danger — classic Lord Ye and the dragon.
Yǒuxiē rén yègōnghàolóng, zuǐshang tán gǎigé, zhēn dào gǎigé shí yòu fǎnduì.
Some people only love reform in words; when real reform comes, they oppose it.

Tips

history
From ·杂事》: Lord Ye () 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

gōng
hǎo
lóng