Shareables · HSK 4 · 文 · Culture
成语 · 亡羊补牢
Mend the pen after the sheep is lost — it is still not too late.
Opens the card studio: pick a size, switch paper or night, add a note of your own, then save the PNG or hand it straight to the share sheet.
亡羊补牢wáng yáng bǔ láoto mend the pen after losing a sheep — to fix the cause before it costs you again
逐字 · CHARACTER BY CHARACTER
| Character | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 亡 | wáng | to lose, to flee |
| 羊 | yáng | sheep |
| 补 | bǔ | to mend, to patch |
| 牢 | láo | pen, fold |
A shepherd lost a sheep through a hole in the fence and shrugged. He lost another the next night. Then he mended the hole, and lost no more. The idiom is not about the sheep — it is about the hole. 《战国策》
常说 · THE FULL SAYING
Wáng yáng bǔ láo, wéi shí wèi wǎn.亡羊补牢，为时未晚。Mend the pen after losing the sheep — it still isn't too late.
More from HSK 4
- 成语 · 井底之蛙 — The frog at the bottom of the well — Zhuangzi on how small a world can look.
- 成语 · 塞翁失马 — The old man lost his horse — and nobody could say yet whether it was bad news.
- 抽象概念 · Abstract concepts — The 8 words of Abstract concepts, with readings.
- 学术教育 · Academic study & education — The 15 words of Academic study & education, with readings.
- 成果结果 · Achievements & outcomes — The 9 words of Achievements & outcomes, with readings.
- 调整变化 · Adjustment & change — The 10 words of Adjustment & change, with readings.
- 动植物 · Animals & nature — The 5 words of Animals & nature, with readings.
- 外表状态 · Appearance & physical state — The 17 words of Appearance & physical state, with readings.
A card is one idea. The course is the map they all sit on. HSK 0 through HSK 6 on a mastery-gated knowledge graph: active recall in small steps, reviews timed to land just before you would forget, and speaking drilled from the first lesson. One payment of $49, lifetime access.
Get lifetime access, $49