亡羊补牢

亡羊補牢
wángyángbǔláo
  1. lit. to mend the pen after sheep are lost (idiom)
  2. fig. to act belatedly
  3. better late than never
  4. to lock the stable door after the horse has bolted

CEDICT

Entry Composition

=1 亡 wáng
  1. to die
  2. to lose
  3. to be gone
  4. to flee
  5. deceased
=1 亡 wáng old variant of 亡 wáng
2 羊 yáng sheep; goat

classifiers: 頭, 隻
3 补 bǔ
  1. to repair
  2. to patch
  3. to mend
  4. to make up for
  5. to fill (a vacancy)
  6. to supplement
4 牢 láo
  1. firm
  2. sturdy
  3. fold (for animals)
  4. sacrifice
  5. prison