夜郎自大

yèlángzìdà
idiom #67,692

Meanings

  1. 1 Yelang thinks itself great
  2. 2 ignorant self-importance

Examples

Wǒmen gōngsī hái xiǎo, qiānwàn bié yèlángzìdà.
Our company is still small — we must not be arrogant like Yelang.
Tā yèlángzìdà, yǐwéi zìjǐ tiānxià dì yī.
He is foolishly conceited, thinking himself the best in the world.

Tips

history
From 《史记·西南》: Yelang () was a tiny kingdom in southwest China during the Han dynasty. When a Han envoy arrived, its king asked whether Han was larger than Yelang — unaware the Han empire dwarfed his domain many times over.

Stroke Order

láng