妄自尊大
wàng zì zūn dà
to be arrogantly self-important; to think far too much of oneself
Character by character
妄wàng
wildly
wildly
自zì
self
self
尊zūn
honour
honour
大dà
great
great
Example
他才当了三个月经理，就开始妄自尊大，谁的意见都听不进去。
Three months as manager and he had grown so full of himself that he would listen to nobody.
Tone: negative (criticism).
Usage and origin
From the 后汉书: 马援 dismissed a rival warlord as a frog in a well who “wildly holds himself great”. Used of people, firms and nations that overrate themselves; close to 夜郎自大.
Learn this in Lesson 99 · HSK 6–7: 康乾盛世 (The High Qing of Kangxi and Qianlong)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
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