醉翁之意不在酒

zuìwēngzhīyìbùzàijiǔ

idiom

Meanings

1 the old drunkard's heart is not in the wine
2 to have an ulterior motive / the real aim lies elsewhere

Characters

Examples

他请你吃饭，醉翁之意不在酒，是想让你帮忙。

Tā qǐng nǐ chīfàn, zuì wēng zhī yì bù zài jiǔ, shì xiǎng ràng nǐ bāngmáng.

He invited you to dinner — his real aim isn't the meal, he wants a favor.

这家公司高价收购小厂，醉翁之意不在酒，看中的是他们的专利。

Zhè jiā gōngsī gāojià shōugòu xiǎo chǎng, zuì wēng zhī yì bù zài jiǔ, kàn zhòng de shì tāmen de zhuānlì.

The company paid a high price for the small factory, but its true interest isn't the factory — it's the patents.

Tips

history

From Ouyang Xiu's (欧阳修) Song-dynasty prose 《醉翁亭记》 (Account of the Old Drunkard's Pavilion): 醉翁之意不在酒，在乎山水之间也 — 'The old drunkard's heart is not in the wine, but among the mountains and waters.' Ouyang, demoted to Chuzhou, nicknamed himself 醉翁. Today almost always used in a pointedly cynical sense about hidden motives.

usage

Strong connotation of hidden agenda. Often followed by 在乎 X 也 or 在... for what the real aim is, echoing the original structure.

Stroke Order

醉 zuì

翁 wēng

之 zhī

意 yì

不 bù

在 zài

酒 jiǔ