欲擒故纵 (yù qín gù zòng) — (chengyu) to give someone enough freedom to act… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A chengyu meaning to deliberately let someone off the leash in order to catch them later — a calculated ploy, not a genuine concession. Often used for negotiation or persuasion tactics.

idiom

(chengyu) to give someone enough freedom to act and then catch themto loosen the reins to tighten them later

Examples

欲擒故纵，。
Tā cǎi yòng le yù qín gù zòng de cè lüè, xiān ràng dí jūn fàng sōng jǐng tì.
He adopted the strategy of giving the enemy rope to hang themselves, first letting them lower their guard.
，欲擒故纵，。
Zài tán pàn zhōng, tā gù yì yù qín gù zòng, ràng duì fāng yǐ wéi zì jǐ zhàn le pián yi.
During the negotiation, he deliberately played hard to get, making the other side think they had the upper hand.
，欲擒故纵，。
Zhuī tā de shí hou, wǒ yòng yù qín gù zòng de fāng fǎ, fǎn ér ràng tā gèng zhǔ dòng.
When I was pursuing her, I used the tactic of not being overly eager, which made her more proactive.

Origin

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

谷欠欲

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

谷

谷gǔ欲yù

Same sound today

欲 is made of 谷, which supplies the sound, and 欠, which relates to the meaning.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

扌禽擒

Meaning part形符xíngfú

扌Written in full as手shǒu

Sound part声符shēngfú

禽

禽qín擒qín

Same sound today

The left part 扌 is a hand, written in full as 手, so the character shows an action done with the hand; the right part 禽 gives its sound.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

古攵故

Meaning part形符xíngfú

攵Written in full as攴pū

Sound part声符shēngfú

古

古gǔ故gù

Same sound today

故 uses 古 for the sound and 攵, written in full as 攴, for the meaning.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 縱; 纵 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

糸糸mì

Sound part声符shēngfú

從

從cóng縱zòng

Same sound today

The traditional form 縱 pairs the 糸 part with 從 as a sound part; the simplified 纵 is a shorthand, and its right side is not the historical sound part.

Appears in

Idioms & Set Phrases

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