朝三暮四
zhāo sān mù sì
fickle; forever changing your mind
Character by character
朝zhāo
morning
morning
三sān
three
three
暮mù
evening
evening
四sì
four
four
Example
他今天想学画画，明天想学钢琴，总是朝三暮四。
One day he wants to learn painting, the next the piano; he is always changing his mind.
Tone: negative (criticism).
Usage and origin
A keeper offered his monkeys three nuts in the morning and four at night. They raged. He offered four and three, and they were delighted. 朝 is read zhāo.
Learn this in Lesson 207 · HSK 9+: 寓言与名句 (Fables and famous lines)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. This lesson is free.
Open the lesson →