Chinese

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to go out; to come out; to occur
to go out; to come out; to occur; to produce; to go beyond; to rise; to put forth; to happen; (a measure word for dramas, plays, or operas)
 
you to return you
trad. (出爾反爾)
simp. (出尔反尔)
Literally: “What comes from you, goes back to you”.

Etymology

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From Mencius (《孟子·梁惠王下》). Originally means "you get treated in the same way that you treat others". Now "to contradict oneself".

曾子:『。』 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
曾子:『。』 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
From: Mencius, c. 4th century BCE, translated based on James Legge's version
Céngzǐ yuē: ‘Jiè zhī jiè zhī! Chūěr zhě, fǎněr zhě yě.’ Fú mín jīn ér hòu dé fǎn zhī yě. [Pinyin]
The philosopher Zeng said, "Beware, beware. What proceeds from you, will return to you again." Now at length the people have paid back the conduct of their officers to them.

Pronunciation

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Idiom

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出爾反爾

  1. to break a promise

Synonyms

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