称兄道弟 (chèn) — (idiom, often derogatory) to act like sworn brothers; to be on showy intimate terms for ulterior motives
Definition
An idiom for people who call each other 'brother' as a performance — the closeness is fake and usually self-serving. Always carries a negative, distrustful tone.
idiom
(idiom, often derogatory) to act like sworn brothersto be on showy intimate terms for ulterior motives
Examples
- ，，称兄道弟。Tā men liǎ biǎo miàn shàng yí tào, sī dǐ xià què hù xiāng suàn jì, zhēn shì chèn.The two of them put on a show in public but scheme against each other in private — truly just calling each other brothers for show.
- 称兄道弟，。Nà xiē jiǔ ròu péng you chèn, děng nǐ yǒu nán le shuí yě bù guǎn nǐ.Those fair-weather friends act like brothers, but when you're in trouble, nobody cares about you.
- 称兄道弟，。Gāng rèn shi yì tiān jiù chèn, zhè zhǒng rén kào bú zhù.Calling each other brothers after only knowing each other for a day — that kind of person is not reliable.
Appears in
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