📖 Meaning
To be ungrateful and betray those who have shown kindness. It describes someone who repays favors with treachery, forgetting the kindness they once received. The phrase strongly condemns a lack of moral decency and loyalty.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase originates from the Yuan dynasty play 'Jing Chai Ji' (The Thorn Hairpin) by Ke Danqiu, in the scene 'Seeking the Truth.' In the play, a character denounces someone as a beast who has turned hostile and shows cruel heartlessness, calling their ingratitude and betrayal of righteousness unforgivable and truly detestable. The expression has since become a common condemnation of those who repay kindness with betrayal.
💡 Example Usage
他受恩人提拔却反咬一口，真是辜恩负义。
After being promoted by his benefactor, he turned around and bit the hand that fed him—truly betraying kindness and righteousness.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 辜恩负义
- Pinyin: gū ēn fù yì
- Literal Translation: betray, favor, betray, righteousness
- Category: Morality
- Characters: 4