招摇过市 (zhāo yáo guò shì) — (set phrase) to act ostentatiously in public; to blatantly seek attention (negative connotation)
Definition
A 贬义 chengyu meaning to swagger around in public, deliberately drawing attention to yourself. Closer to 'show off ostentatiously' than to neutral 炫耀 (just 'to show off').
idiom
(set phrase) to act ostentatiously in publicto blatantly seek attention (negative connotation)
Examples
- ，招摇过市，。Nà ge míng xīng měi tiān chuān dé huā zhī zhāo zhǎn, pīn mìng zhāo yáo guò shì, ràng rén hěn fǎn gǎn.That celebrity dresses flashy every day and desperately swaggers around town, making people dislike him.
- ，，招摇过市。Tā wèi le tuī xiāo zì jǐ de shū, zài jiē shàng sì miàn sòng qiān míng, xiǎn rán shì gù yì zhāo yáo guò shì.He gave out signed copies all over the street to promote his book, clearly seeking attention blatantly.
- 招摇过市，。Zhè zhǒng zhāo yáo guò shì de zuò fǎ zhī huì zhāo lái bié rén de bái yǎn, bú huì yíng dé zūn zhòng.This kind of ostentatious behavior will only earn you disdain, not respect.
Origin
Compound word构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head
The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.
“招摇” pictures waving about, and “过市” pictures passing through the market; together they suggest openly showing off in public.
Appears in
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