徒有虚名

徒有虛名

túyǒuxūmíng

idiom #39,009

Meanings

1 to have an undeserved reputation
2 famous in name only
3 all hat and no cattle

Characters

name/reputation

Examples

这家餐厅徒有虚名，菜根本不好吃。

Zhè jiā cāntīng túyǒuxūmíng, cài gēnběn bù hǎochī.

This restaurant's reputation is undeserved — the food really isn't good.

他被吹捧得很厉害，其实徒有虚名。

Tā bèi chuīpěng de hěn lìhài, qíshí túyǒuxūmíng.

He's been hyped up a lot, but he's actually all reputation and no substance.

Tips

history

From Romance of the Three Kingdoms (《三国演义》第九十五回): when Sima Yi (司马懿) hears that Ma Su (马谡) is defending Jieting, he laughs and says 'túyǒuxūmíng, nǎi yōngcái ěr' — 'famous in name only, just a mediocrity.' Ma Su then loses the strategic pass at Jieting (失街亭), one of the great disasters in the novel.

memory

徒 (tú, merely/in vain) + 有 (yǒu, to have) + 虚 (xū, empty/false) + 名 (míng, name/fame) — 'merely has an empty name.'

Stroke Order

徒 tú

有 yǒu

虚 xū

名 míng