饮鸩止渴

Pronunciation: yǐn zhèn zhǐ kě Literal meaning: Drink poison to quench thirst

Origin & Usage

The 鸩 is a poisonous bird of legend whose feathers, steeped in wine, made a reliable and untraceable method of murder. Huo Xu, defending his uncle against a capital charge, argued to the authorities that no man would do what was alleged, since it would be like drinking (饮) that wine to stop (止) thirst (渴) — relief for a moment, death immediately after. The History of the Later Han preserves the plea. The phrase describes a remedy whose cost is larger than the problem, and it is standard in Chinese discussion of debt.

Examples

English: "Choosing to ignore the problem may provide temporary relief, but it ultimately leads to greater consequences."

Chinese: 选择忽视问题可能会带来暂时的缓解，但最终会导致更大的后果。