装模作样 zhuāng mó zuò yàng pretentious

Explanation

故意做作，故作姿态。形容言行不自然，不真诚。

To deliberately act in an unnatural way for show. It describes behavior that is not genuine or sincere.

Origin Story

话说东汉末年，名士祢衡，恃才傲物，才华横溢，却性格孤傲。一次，他受邀参加一场宴会。席间，他故意穿着奇装异服，并且说话言辞刻薄，行为举止怪异，完全不顾及别人的感受。他不是真心如此，而是故意装模作样，想要吸引众人的注意，博取别人的赞赏。然而，他这种行为并没有得到别人的认可，反而遭到了大家的厌恶。祢衡装模作样，最终不仅没有获得尊重，反而招致了众人的反感，自讨苦吃。这个故事告诉我们，为人处世要真诚，不要装模作样，否则只会适得其反。

huà shuō dōng hàn mò nián, míng shì mí héng, shì cái ào wù, cái huá héng yì, què xìng gé gū ào. yī cì, tā shòu yāo cān jiā yī chǎng yàn huì. xí jiān, tā gù yì chuān zhuō qí zhuāng yì fú, bìng qiě shuō huà yán cí kè bó, xíng wéi jǔ zhǐ guài yì, wán quán bù gù jí bié rén de gǎn shòu. tā bù shì zhēn xīn rú cǐ, ér shì gù yì zhuāng mó zuò yàng, xiǎng yào xī yǐn zhòng rén de zhù yì, bó qǔ bié rén de zàn shǎng. rán ér, tā zhè zhǒng xíng wéi bìng méi yǒu dé dào bié rén de rěn kě, fǎn ér zāo dào le dà jiā de yàn wù. mí héng zhuāng mó zuò yàng, zuì zhōng bù jǐn méi yǒu huò dé zūn zhòng, fǎn ér zhāo zhì le zhòng rén de fǎn gǎn, zì tǎo kǔ chī. zhège gù shì gào sù wǒmen, wéi rén chǔ shì yào zhēn chéng, bù yào zhuāng mó zuò yàng, fǒu zé zhǐ huì shì dé fǎn.

During the late Han Dynasty, there was a scholar named Mi Heng known for his exceptional talent but also arrogant personality. Once, he attended a banquet, deliberately wearing extravagant clothes and behaving eccentrically. Instead of earning respect, his manner only drew scorn. This story emphasizes the importance of sincerity and warns against superficial displays of self-importance.

Usage

作谓语、定语、状语；形容言行不自然，不真诚。

zuò wèiyǔ、dìngyǔ、zhuàngyǔ；xíngróng yánxíng bù zìrán, bù zhēnchéng.

Used as a predicate, attributive, or adverbial; to describe unnatural and insincere behavior.

Examples

• 他装模作样地在那里指手画脚，实际上什么忙也帮不上。

  ta zhuangmozuoyang de zai nali zhishihua jiao, shijishang shenme mang ye bang bu shang.

  He pretended to be busy, but actually didn't do anything.

• 他装模作样地摆弄那些仪器，其实根本不懂操作。

  ta zhuangmozuoyang de bainong naxie yqi, qishi genben bu dong caozuo.

  She acted like an expert, but she was actually a novice.

Related Idioms

• 装腔作势

• 故作姿态

• 矫揉造作

Opposite Idioms

• 真誠

• 坦率

• 自然