妄自尊大 wàng zì zūn dà arrogant

Explanation

过高地评价自己，形容狂妄自大，目中无人。

To overestimate oneself; describes arrogance and haughtiness.

Origin Story

话说西汉末年，天下大乱，群雄逐鹿。公孙述割据蜀地，称帝称王，自号为成家皇帝。他自认为是汉室正统，对其他诸侯势力不屑一顾，目中无人，很是猖狂。这时，隗嚣，一位在陇西地区势力强大的诸侯，为了探明公孙述的虚实，派大将马援前去打探。马援与公孙述同乡，两人见面后，公孙述摆出一副高高在上的样子，完全不把马援放在眼里。马援暗中观察，发现公孙述虽然自称皇帝，但他的宫殿破败，军队涣散，实力远不如隗嚣。回营后，马援对隗嚣说：“公孙述不过是一个井底之蛙，妄自尊大，不足为虑。”后来，马援投奔了刘秀，为光武帝统一全国立下了赫赫战功。这个故事告诉我们，做人要谦虚谨慎，不要妄自尊大，否则只会自取其辱。

huì shuō xī hàn mò nián, tiān xià dà luàn, qún xióng zhú lù. gōng sūn shù gē jù shǔ dì, chēng dì chēng wáng, zì hào wèi chéng jiā huáng dì. tā zì rèn wéi shì hàn shì zhèng tǒng, duì qí tā zhū hóu shì lì bù xiè yī gù, mù zhōng wú rén, hěn shì chāng kuáng. zhè shí, wéi xiāo, yī wèi zài lǒng xī dì qū shì lì qiáng dà de zhū hóu, wèi le tàn míng gōng sūn shù de xū shí, pài dà jiàng mǎ yuán qián qù dǎ tàn. mǎ yuán yǔ gōng sūn shù tóng xiāng, liǎng rén miàn xiàn hòu, gōng sūn shù bǎi chū yī fù gāo gāo zài shàng de yàng zi, wán quán bù bǎ mǎ yuán fàng zài yǎn li. mǎ yuán àn zhōng guān chá, fā xiàn gōng sūn shù suī rán zì chēng huáng dì, dàn tā de gōng diàn pò bài, jūn duì huàn sàn, shì lì yuǎn bù rú wéi xiāo. huí yíng hòu, mǎ yuán duì wéi xiāo shuō:"gōng sūn shù bù guò shì yī gè jǐng dǐ zhī wā, wàng zì zūn dà, bù zú wèi lǜ." hòu lái, mǎ yuán tóu bēn le liú xiù, wèi guāng wǔ dì tǒng yī quánguó lì xià le hè hè zhàn gōng. zhège gù shì gào sù wǒ men, zuò rén yào qiān xū jǐn shèn, bù yào wàng zì zūn dà, fǒu zé zhǐ huì zì qǔ qí rǔ.

In the late Western Han Dynasty, the country was in chaos, and warlords were vying for power. Gongsun Shu seized control of Shu, declared himself emperor, and called himself the Chengjia Emperor. He believed that he was the rightful heir to the Han Dynasty, despised other feudal forces, and was arrogant and haughty. At that time, Wei Xiao, a powerful feudal lord in the Longxi region, sent his general Ma Yuan to investigate Gongsun Shu's strength. Ma Yuan and Gongsun Shu were from the same hometown. After meeting, Gongsun Shu acted superior and ignored Ma Yuan completely. Ma Yuan secretly observed that although Gongsun Shu called himself emperor, his palace was dilapidated, his army was disorganized, and his strength was far inferior to Wei Xiao's. After returning to the camp, Ma Yuan told Wei Xiao, "Gongsun Shu is just a frog in a well, arrogant and unworthy of attention." Later, Ma Yuan joined Liu Xiu and made great contributions to the unification of the country by the Emperor Guangwu. This story tells us that we should be humble and cautious, not arrogant and haughty, or we will only humiliate ourselves.

Usage

形容人狂妄自大，不把别人放在眼里。

xiáoróng rén kuángwàng zìdà, bù bǎ biérén fàng zài yǎnli

Describes someone who is arrogant and haughty, and does not take others into account.

Examples

• 他妄自尊大，目中无人。

  tā wàng zì zūn dà, mù zhōng wú rén

  He is arrogant and haughty.

• 不要妄自尊大，要虚心学习。

  bú yào wàng zì zūn dà, yào xū xīn xué xí

  Don't be arrogant, be humble and learn.

Related Idioms

• 夜郎自大

• 自以为是

Opposite Idioms

• 自谦

• 谦虚