从前,有个女孩叫西施。
Long ago, there was a girl named Xishi.
她很美,大家都喜欢看她。
She was very beautiful, and everyone liked to look at her.
一天,西施病了,觉得很难受。
One day, Xishi got sick and felt very bad.
她皱着眉头,慢慢地走。
She frowned and walked slowly.
大家说:“她这样也很美!”
Everyone said, "She is beautiful even like this!"
村里还有一个女孩,叫东施。
In the village there was another girl, named Dongshi.
东施长得不好看。
Dongshi was not pretty.
她想:“我也学西施吧!”
She thought, "I will copy Xishi!"
东施也皱着眉头走路。
Dongshi also walked around frowning.
可是大家一看到她,都跑开了。
But as soon as people saw her, they all ran away.
这个成语是“东施效颦”。
This idiom is "Dongshi copies the frown."
意思是:只会学别人的样子,结果更不好。
It means: blindly copying someone else only makes things worse.
例句:不要东施效颦,做你自己就好。
Example: Don't copy others blindly — just be yourself.
Hover a word for its pinyin & meaning; click to pin it.
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 从前 | cóng qián | in the past; once upon a time |
| 有个 | yǒu gè | There is a; there exists one |
| 女孩 | nǚ hái | girl |
| 叫 | jiào | to call; to be called |
| 西施 | xī shī | Xishi (c. 450 BC), famous Chinese beauty, foremost of the four legendary beauties 四大美女[si4 da4 mei3 nu:3] |
| 她 | tā | she |
| 很 | hěn | very |
| 美 | měi | beautiful; (abbr. for America) |
| 大家 | dà jiā | everyone |
| 都 | dōu | all; both |
| 喜欢 | xǐ huan | to like |
| 看 | kàn | to look; to watch; to see |
| 一天 | yī tiān | One day |
| 病 | bìng | illness; sick |
| 了 | le | (particle indicating completed action or change of state) |
| 觉得 | jué de | to think; to feel |
| 难受 | nán shòu | to feel miserable; unwell |
| 皱 | zhòu | to wrinkle; wrinkled; to crease |
| 着 | zhe | (aspect particle) indicating ongoing action |
| 眉头 | méi tóu | brows |
| 慢慢地 | màn màn de | slowly |
| 走 | zǒu | to walk; to go |
| 说 | shuō | to speak; to say |
| 这样 | zhè yàng | in this way; like this |
| 也 | yě | also |
| 村 | cūn | village |
| 里 | lǐ | inside; interior; within |
| 还有 | hái yǒu | also; in addition |
| 一个 | yī ge | a; an; one; the whole (afternoon, summer vacation etc) |
| 东 | dōng | east |
| 施 | shī | surname Shi |
| 长得 | zhǎng de | to look (pretty, the same etc) |
| 不 | bù | no; not |
| 好看 | hǎo kàn | good-looking; beautiful |
| 想 | xiǎng | to think; to want |
| 我 | wǒ | I; me |
| 学 | xué | to learn |
| 吧 | ba | modal particle indicating suggestion |
| 走路 | zǒu lù | to walk; to go on foot |
| 可是 | kě shì | but; however |
| 一 | yī | one |
| 看到 | kàn dào | to see |
| 跑开 | pǎo kāi | To run away; to run off |
| 这个 | zhè ge | (pronoun) this; (adjective) this |
| 成语 | chéng yǔ | idiom; set expression |
| 是 | shì | to be; correct |
| 东施效颦 | dōng shī xiào pín | lit. Dong Shi imitates Xi Shi's frown (idiom); fig. to mimick sb's idiosyncrasies but make a fool of oneself |
| 意思 | yì si | meaning; idea |
| 只会 | zhǐ huì | only can |
| 别人 | bié ren | other people; others |
| 的 | de | possessive particle |
| 样子 | yàng zi | appearance; look |
| 结果 | jié guǒ | result; outcome; consequence |
| 更 | gèng | more; even more; further; still; additionally |
| 不好 | bù hǎo | no good |
| 例句 | lì jù | example sentence |
| 不要 | bù yào | don't; must not |
| 做 | zuò | to do; to make |
| 你 | nǐ | you |
| 自己 | zì jǐ | oneself; one's own |
| 就 | jiù | then; just; precisely |
| 好 | hǎo | good |