出尔反尔
chū ěr fǎn ěr
to go back on your word
Character by character
出chū
out from
out from
尔ěr
you
you
反fǎn
back to
back to
尔ěr
you
you
Example
昨天答应的事今天又不承认，他总是出尔反尔。
What he agreed to yesterday he denies today; he is always going back on his word.
Tone: negative (criticism).
Usage and origin
尔 is classical “you”.
Learn this in Lesson 104 · HSK 7–9: 法律与合同 (Law and contracts)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. This lesson is free.
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