出爾反爾

出尔反尔
chū'ěrfǎn'ěr

to break a promise

Wiktionary

Homographs

出爾反爾 chūěrfǎněr
  1. old: to reap the consequences of one's words (idiom, from Mencius); modern: to go back on one's word
  2. to blow hot and cold
  3. to contradict oneself
  4. inconsistent

Entry Composition

=1 出 chū
  1. to go out; to come out
  2. to arise; to occur
  3. to produce; to yield
  4. to go beyond; to exceed
  5. (used after a verb to indicate an outward direction or a positive result)
  6. classifier for dramas, plays, operas etc
=1 出 chū variant of 出 chū (classifier for plays or chapters of classical novels)
2 爾 ěr
  1. thus
  2. so
  3. like that
  4. you
  5. thou
=3 反 fǎn
  1. contrary
  2. in reverse
  3. inside out or upside down
  4. to reverse
  5. to return
  6. to oppose
  7. opposite
  8. against
  9. anti-
  10. to rebel
  11. to use analogy
  12. instead
  13. abbr. for 反切 fǎnqiè phonetic system
=3 反 fàn
  1. (music) Cantonese opera gongche notation for the note fa (4).
  2. Cantonese opera gongche notation for the note fa (4).
  3. alternative form of 販 /贩 (fàn)
  4. used in 反反
4 爾 ěr
  1. thus
  2. so
  3. like that
  4. you
  5. thou