讳疾忌医

Pronunciation: huì jí jì yī Literal meaning: Conceal illness, avoid doctors

Origin & Usage

The story is in the Han Feizi. The physician Bian Que told Duke Huan of Cai three times that illness (疾) was spreading in him, and each time the duke denied it and dismissed him; on the fourth visit Bian Que turned and left, because the sickness had reached the marrow. The duke died. The four characters are later — Zhou Dunyi of the Song wrote that a man who dislikes being corrected is like one who 护疾而忌医, shields his illness and shuns (忌) the doctor (医), and would sooner die than be shown his error. The modern form sharpens 护, to shield, into 讳, to avoid naming: the illness (疾) is not merely protected but unmentionable (讳). Read together they are precise about the cost: every stage was still treatable when it was denied.

Examples

English: "The company refused to acknowledge its financial problems until bankruptcy was inevitable"

Chinese: 公司拒绝承认其财务问题，直到破产不可避免