趾高气扬 (zhǐ gāo qì yáng) — pompous; arrogant
Definition
A vivid four-character idiom for someone walking around 'with their chin in the air' — smug, swaggering, and looking down on others. Stronger than the plain adjective 傲慢; emphasizes the visible, showy behavior.
idiom
pompousarrogant
Examples
- 趾高气扬，。Tā zì cóng shēng zhí yǐ hòu jiù biàn de zhǐ gāo qì yáng, duì tóng shì dōu bù lǐ bù cǎi.After he got promoted, he became arrogant and ignored his colleagues entirely.
- 趾高气扬，。Yí gè rén rú guǒ zǒng shì zhǐ gāo qì yáng, chí zǎo huì shī qù péng you.If a person is always pompous, they will eventually lose friends.
- 趾高气扬。Tā nà zhǐ gāo qì yáng de yàng zi ràng rén kàn le hěn bù shū fu.His arrogant demeanor makes people feel very uncomfortable.
Appears in
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