📖 Meaning
A heart like a wolf and conduct like a dog. Used to describe someone who is greedy, ruthless, and utterly shameless in their actions. It conveys extreme moral condemnation of a person's base and treacherous character.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase appears in Chapter 7 of the Ming dynasty novel 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms' by Luo Guanzhong. In the story, a character denounces someone who was once regarded as loyal and righteous, even chosen as leader of an alliance, but whose current deeds reveal a truly wolf-hearted and dog-like character. The speaker demands to know how such a person can still show their face in the world. The expression has since become a vivid metaphor for the most despicable and morally bankrupt conduct.
💡 Example Usage
他恩将仇报，做出这种狼心狗行的事，早晚会被众人唾弃。
He repays kindness with enmity and commits such wolf-hearted, dog-like deeds; sooner or later he will be despised by all.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 狼心狗行
- Pinyin: láng xīn gǒu xíng
- Literal Translation: wolf heart, dog behavior
- Category: Morality
- Characters: 4