10 Chinese Idioms About Pride & Arrogance

Offer modest view to inspire better

Literal meaning: Throw brick attract jade

This elegant metaphor emerged from Tang Dynasty literary circles, where throwing (抛) a modest brick (砖) to attract (引) precious jade (玉) described the practice of sharing an simple poem to inspire superior verses from others. The story goes that a lesser-known poet presented his work to the great Li...

Deceive by substitution

Literal meaning: Steal beam swap pillar

This idiom refers to the cunning act of stealing (偷) beams (梁) and swapping (换) pillars (柱), derived from a Warring States period tale of architectural deception. The story involves a craftsman who gradually replaced a building's support structure while maintaining its appearance, ultimately comprom...

Miss big picture

Literal meaning: Leaf blocks eye

This idiom illustrates how a single (一) leaf (叶) can block (障) one's vision/eyes (目). Emerging from Buddhist texts warning against limited perspective, it gained prominence during the Song Dynasty's Neo-Confucian movement. The deceptively simple image of a leaf blocking an entire view became a power...

Use others' resources

Literal meaning: Borrow flower offer Buddha

This Buddhist-influenced idiom describes borrowing flowers (花) to offer (献) to Buddha (佛), originating from Tang Dynasty temple practices where worshippers would sometimes borrow flowers from temple gardens for their offerings. The practice sparked philosophical discussions about the nature of since...

Contradict oneself

Literal meaning: Spear shield contradict self

This idiom originates from a famous logical paradox in the Han Feizi, where a merchant claimed to have a spear (矛) that could pierce anything and a shield (盾) that could block anything - creating a self (自) contradicting (相) claim. The story became a classic example in Chinese logical discourse, use...

Excellence that outshines all others

Literal meaning: Rise above the crowd

This distinguished idiom describes emerging (出) from a category (类) and rising above (拔) the crowd (萃), originating from the Book of Later Han. It first described officials whose exceptional talents distinguished them from colleagues. The agricultural metaphor suggests a plant growing noticeably tal...

Creating unnecessary troubles for oneself

Literal meaning: Mediocre person self-disturbs

This psychological idiom describes how unremarkable people (庸人) trouble themselves (自扰) with imagined concerns, originating from Ming Dynasty philosopher Wang Yangming's writings. He observed how ordinary minds generate unnecessary suffering through excessive rumination. The phrase gained popularity...

Evenly matched with neither superior

Literal meaning: Not mutually up down

Han Dynasty military strategists developed this elegant phrase to describe forces without (不) mutual (相) superiority or inferiority (上下). Initially used for armies whose different strengths created overall parity, Tang Dynasty writers expanded it to compare everything from scholarly works to artisti...

Extremely arrogant; look down on everyone

Literal meaning: No person in one's eyes

This idiom describes having no (无) person (人) in one's eyes (目中) - looking through people as if they don't exist. It criticizes extreme arrogance that refuses to acknowledge others. The phrase appeared in texts condemning proud officials who treated inferiors with contempt. It represents a failure o...

Be domineering and arrogant

Literal meaning: Command with chin gestures and breath

This idiom describes commanding others with chin (颐) gestures (指) and breathing (气) to direct (使). It depicts someone so arrogant they give orders through mere facial expressions and sighs rather than words. This behavior was associated with tyrannical masters commanding servants. Modern usage criti...