朝三暮四 (zhāo sān mù sì) — to be fickle; to change one's mind repeatedly; to blow hot and cold; to be inconsistent
Definition
A chengyu for someone who keeps changing their mind on what they already agreed to — 'fickle, blows hot and cold.' Unlike 犹豫 (a personal feeling of hesitation), 朝三暮四 implies breaking a prior commitment, which is why others lose trust.
phrase
to be fickleto change one's mind repeatedlyto blow hot and coldto be inconsistent
Examples
- 朝三暮四，。Tā zhè ge rén zǒng shì zhāo sān mù sì, suǒ yǐ dà jiā dōu bú tài xiāng xìn tā.He is always fickle, so people don't really trust him.
- ，朝三暮四。Nǐ yǐ jīng dā ying le bié rén, jiù bù néng zhāo sān mù sì.You've already agreed with others, so you can't blow hot and cold.
- 朝三暮四，。Tā zài gōng zuò zhōng yě cháng zhāo sān mù sì, ràng rén hěn tóu téng.She is also often indecisive at work, which really gives people a headache.
Appears in
Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.