📖 Meaning
A fair-weather friend who only associates with you for eating, drinking, and pleasure rather than genuine fellowship. These relationships dissolve when the good times end or when real help is needed. The term is used critically to describe shallow, opportunistic social connections.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase appears in Yuan dynasty playwright Guan Hanqing's work 'The Single Sword Meeting' (《单刀会》), where the character refers to Guan Yunchang (Guan Yu) as a 'wine-and-meat friend.' In the context of the play, the speaker claims he could deliver Guan Yu to the enemy with his own two hands, underscoring the dismissive nature of calling someone a mere drinking companion. Over time, the expression became a common critique of friendships based solely on revelry and mutual indulgence, lacking loyalty or substance.
💡 Example Usage
那些人不过是他得意时的酒肉朋友，如今落难便都不见了踪影。
Those people were nothing but his fair-weather friends from his prosperous days; now that he's in trouble, they've all vanished.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 酒肉朋友
- Pinyin: jiǔ ròu péng yǒu
- Literal Translation: wine, meat, friend, companion
- Category: Status
- Characters: 4