养虎为患
yǎng hǔ wéi huàn
to rear a tiger that will turn on you; to store up trouble by indulging a danger
Character by character
养yǎng
rear
rear
虎hǔ
tiger
tiger
为wéi
become
become
患huàn
calamity
calamity
Example
对小区里的违章搭建一直不管，等于养虎为患。
Turning a blind eye to illegal building on the estate is storing up trouble for later.
Tone: negative (criticism).
Usage and origin
From 《史记·项羽本纪》: Zhang Liang and Chen Ping urged Liu Bang not to let Xiang Yu go, or it would be 养虎自遗患. Also 养虎遗患. Said of tolerating a rival, a bad habit or a small problem until it is too big to handle.
Learn this in Lesson 155 · HSK 7–9: 吊瓶大国 (A nation of IV drips)
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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