自吹自擂
zì chuī zì léi
to blow your own trumpet
Character by character
自zì
self
self
吹chuī
blow
blow
自zì
self
self
擂léi
beat the drum
beat the drum
Example
他总喜欢自吹自擂。
He's always blowing his own trumpet.
Tone: negative (criticism).
Usage and origin
Colloquial and critical; 擂 is léi, 'to beat a drum'.
Learn it in context
This idiom and thousands more are in Learn Chinese with Bao, with audio, pinyin and drills that make them stick.
Start the course free →