亡羊补牢 wáng yáng bǔ láo Mend the fold after the sheep are lost

Explanation

比喻出了问题以后想办法补救，可以防止继续受损失。

This idiom means it is not too late to make amends for a mistake after something has been lost, as long as there is still time to prevent further damage.

Origin Story

战国时期，有个农夫，他家的羊圈破了个大洞，羊经常从里面跑出来，弄得他非常头疼。有一天，农夫的羊又从羊圈里跑出来了。他心想：羊跑了再修羊圈也没用，反正也找不到它了。可他心里还是放心不下，于是就到羊圈旁，看着那个洞口发呆。这时，他邻居的妻子看到他这样，就笑着说：“你家羊跑出来了，你为什么不赶快去追呢？”农夫说：“追羊又有什么用呢？反正也找不到了，还不如就在这里看看羊从哪儿跑出来的，回去把羊圈补好，以后就不会再跑了。”邻居的妻子说：“你现在想起来补羊圈还不算太迟，要是等羊都跑光了，再补羊圈就太迟了！”

zhàn guó shí qī, yǒu gè nóng fū, tā jiā de yáng quān pò le gè dà dòng, yáng jīng cháng cóng lǐ miàn pǎo chū lái, nòng de tā fēi cháng tóu téng. yǒu yī tiān, nóng fū de yáng yòu cóng yáng quān lǐ pǎo chū lái le. tā xiǎng dào: yáng pǎo le zài xiū yáng quān yě méi yòng, fǎn zhèng yě zhǎo bù dào tā le. kě tā xīn lǐ hái shì fàng xīn bù xià, yú shì jiù dào yáng quān páng, kàn zhe nà ge dòng kǒu fā dài. zhè shí, tā lín jū de qī zi kàn dào tā zhè yàng, jiù xiào zhe shuō: “nǐ jiā yáng pǎo chū lái le, nǐ wèi shén me bù gǎn kuài qù zhuī ne?” nóng fū shuō: “zhuī yáng yòu yǒu shén me yòng ne? fǎn zhèng yě zhǎo bù dào le, hái bù rú jiù zài zhè li kàn kàn yáng cóng nǎr pǎo chū lái de, huí qù bǎ yáng quān bǔ hǎo, yǐ hòu jiù bù huì zài pǎo le.” lín jū de qī zi shuō: “nǐ xiàn zài xiǎng qǐ lái bǔ yáng quān hái bù suàn tài chí, yào shì děng yáng dōu pǎo guāng le, zài bǔ yáng quān jiù tài chí le!

During the Warring States Period, there was a farmer whose sheep pen had a big hole in it. His sheep often ran out, which caused him a lot of trouble. One day, the farmer's sheep ran out of the pen again. He thought to himself: It's useless to chase the sheep and repair the pen if it's gone. Anyway, I can't find it. But he still couldn't rest easy, so he went to the sheep pen and stared at the hole. At this time, his neighbor's wife saw him and said with a smile: 'Your sheep has run away, why don't you chase it quickly?' The farmer said: 'What's the use of chasing the sheep? It's gone anyway, I'd rather stay here and see where it ran out and repair the pen so it won't run out again in the future.' The neighbor's wife said: 'It's not too late to repair the pen now, but if all the sheep run away, then it's too late!'

Usage

亡羊补牢，这个成语用来比喻做错了事以后及时改正，避免造成更大的损失。我们应该及时改正错误，不要等到事情不可挽回时才亡羊补牢。

wáng yáng bǔ láo, zhè ge chéng yǔ yòng lái bǐ yù zuò cuò le shì yǐ hòu jí shí gǎi zhèng, bì miǎn zào chéng gèng dà de sǔn shī. wǒ men yīng gāi jí shí gǎi zhèng cuò wù, bú yào děng dào shì qíng bù kě wán huí shí cái wáng yáng bǔ láo.

The idiom '亡羊补牢' is used to illustrate that it is never too late to make amends for a mistake after something has been lost, as long as there is still time to prevent further damage. We should correct our mistakes in time, instead of waiting until things are irreparable.

Examples

• 亡羊补牢，为时未晚。

  wáng yáng bǔ láo, wéi shí wèi wǎn.

  It's never too late to mend.

• 我们应该及时改正错误，不要等到事情不可挽回时才亡羊补牢

  wǒ men yīng gāi jí shí gǎi zhèng cuò wù, bú yào děng dào shì qíng bù kě wán huí shí cái wáng yáng bǔ láo

  We should correct our mistakes in time, instead of waiting until things are irreparable

Related Idioms

• 知错就改

• 及时补救

Opposite Idioms

• 一错再错

• 冥顽不灵