📖 Meaning
To stand up and intervene when witnessing injustice, defending the victim or the wronged party. It describes a righteous, courageous person who cannot tolerate unfair treatment and takes action to help the underdog.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from Chapter 45 of Cao Xueqin's classic Qing Dynasty novel 'Dream of the Red Chamber' (红楼梦). In the story, the maid Ping'er is unjustly beaten and mistreated, and another character is so angered by this unfairness that they feel compelled to speak up and defend her. The phrase originally described this emotional reaction to witnessed injustice, and over time it evolved into a widely used idiom meaning to actively intervene on behalf of someone being wronged.
💡 Example Usage
他从小就喜欢打抱不平，见不得别人受欺负。
Ever since he was a child, he has loved standing up against injustice and cannot bear to see others being bullied.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 打抱不平
- Pinyin: dǎ bào bù píng
- Literal Translation: strike, embrace, not, fair
- Category: Morality
- Characters: 4