📖 Meaning
To retort sarcastically when criticized, refusing to accept blame and instead turning the attack back on the accuser. It describes a defiant, tit-for-tat verbal response where one mocks the other party rather than acknowledging fault.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from the 'Biography of Jia Yi' in the Book of Han (汉书·贾谊传), a historical text from the Eastern Han dynasty. Jia Yi, a renowned statesman and scholar of the Western Han, observed that when a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law fell out with each other, they would 'turn their lips and mutually interrogate' (反唇而相稽) rather than reconcile. The phrase originally used 稽 (jī, meaning 'to interrogate or examine'), which later evolved into 讥 (jī, meaning 'to ridicule'), shifting the nuance from mutual questioning to mutual mockery. The idiom thus captures the petty, retaliatory quarrels that arise in close relationships when neither party is willing to back down.
💡 Example Usage
他反唇相讥道：'你管好自己就行。'
He retorted sarcastically: 'Just mind your own business.'
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 反唇相讥
- Pinyin: fǎn chún xiāng jī
- Literal Translation: turn back, lip, mutually, ridicule
- Category: Communication
- Characters: 4