4 characters Idiom and proverb 11 865

We’re offering free resources to help you learn Chinese. In this series, idioms and proverbs take center stage, known for their deep meanings and versatile usage. Today’s idiom is 「沽名賣直」, explained below.

Here is the Chinese idiom 「沽名賣直」, along with its meaning and how it is used.

Pretending to be upright in order to gain reputation.

The Mandarin pronunciation of this idiom is :

gū míng mài zhí

while its Cantonese pinyin is :

gu1 ming4/meng2 maai6 jik6

Chinese idioms are incredibly numerous, each carrying a special meaning and usage. This variety is a great reason to study them, and we hope these tools make that easier for you.