📖 Meaning
Originally from Mencius, describing someone who borrows the name of benevolence and righteousness without genuinely practicing them. In modern usage, it refers to borrowing something for an extended period and never returning it, effectively appropriating another's property through prolonged possession.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom originates from Mencius (《孟子·尽心上》), a Warring States period Confucian text. Mencius remarked, 'If one borrows something for a long time and does not return it, how do we know it was not truly his?' (久假而不归，恶知其非有也). The original context criticized rulers who paid lip service to Confucian virtues without embodying them. Over centuries, the meaning shifted from this philosophical critique to its more literal sense of indefinitely holding onto borrowed goods.
💡 Example Usage
他借走我那套绝版书久假不归，催了多次也没用。
He borrowed my out-of-print book collection and has kept it indefinitely without returning it; my repeated reminders have been futile.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 久假不归
- Pinyin: jiǔ jiǎ bù guī
- Literal Translation: long, borrow, not, return
- Category: Action
- Characters: 4