不识好歹 bù shí hǎo dǎi Ungrateful

Explanation

不识好歹的意思是不懂好坏，形容人愚昧无知，缺乏分辨能力。

It means not knowing good or bad, describing a person as ignorant and lacking the ability to distinguish.

Origin Story

从前，有个财主非常富有，他常常做一些善事，帮助那些贫困的人。一天，财主看到一个衣衫褴褛的乞丐，便好心地给了他一些食物和钱财。乞丐拿到东西后，非但没有表示感谢，反而破口大骂，说财主给的东西太少，还嫌弃财主的东西脏。财主听到乞丐的辱骂，感到非常震惊和失望，他没想到自己的好心会遭到这样的对待。财主叹息道：“我真是看错了人，他真是个不识好歹的人！”从此以后，财主再也不轻易帮助那些不识好歹的人了。这个故事告诉我们，要学会辨别是非，不要对不识好歹的人付出太多，以免浪费自己的时间和精力。

cóngqián, yǒu ge cáizhǔ fēicháng fùyǒu, tā chángcháng zuò yīxiē shànshì, bāngzhù nàxiē pínkùn de rén. yītiān, cáizhǔ kàn dào yīgè yīsān lánlǔ de qǐgai, biàn hǎoxīn de gěi le tā yīxiē shíwù hé qiáncái. qǐgai ná dào dōngxī hòu, fēidān méiyǒu biǎoshì gǎnxiè, fǎn'ér pòkǒu dà mà, shuō cáizhǔ gěi de dōngxī tài shǎo, hái xiánqì cáizhǔ de dōngxī zāng. cáizhǔ tīng dào qǐgai de rǔmà, gǎndào fēicháng zhènjīng hé shīwàng, tā méi xiǎng dào zìjǐ de hǎoxīn huì zāodào zhèyàng de duìdài. cáizhǔ tànxī dào:“wǒ zhēnshi kàn cuò le rén, tā zhēnshi gè bù shí hǎo dǎi de rén！”cóngcǐ yǐhòu, cáizhǔ zài yě bù qīngyì bāngzhù nàxiē bù shí hǎo dǎi de rén le. zhège gùshì gàosù wǒmen, yào xuéhuì biànbié shìfēi, bùyào duì bù shí hǎo dǎi de rén fùchū tài duō, yǐmiǎn làngfèi zìjǐ de shíjiān hé jīnglì.

Once upon a time, there was a wealthy man who often did good deeds and helped those in need. One day, he saw a beggar and gave him some food and money. However, the beggar insulted him and complained that the amount was too little. The wealthy man sighed, "I made a mistake; he is truly ungrateful." From then on, he only helped those who deserved it.

Usage

形容人不识大体，不知好歹，不懂感恩。

xiáoróng rén bù shí dàtǐ, bù zhī hǎo dǎi, bù dǒng gǎn'ēn

Describes someone who is tactless and ungrateful and shows no appreciation.

Examples

• 他真是不识好歹，好心当成驴肝肺。

  tā zhēnshi bù shí hǎo dǎi, hǎoxīn dàng chéng lǘ gān fèi.

  He is really ungrateful, taking kindness as enmity.

• 如此厚礼，他竟然不识好歹，真是岂有此理！

  rúcǐ hòulǐ, tā jìngrán bù shí hǎo dǎi, zhēnshi qǐ yǒu cǐ lǐ！

  Such a gift, and he is so ungrateful, that's unbelievable!

Related Idioms

• 不识抬举

• 不知好歹

• 恩将仇报

Opposite Idioms

• 明辨是非

• 是非分明