📖 Meaning
To put on airs and strike poses to impress others. It describes someone who acts pretentiously or puts on a show of importance to feign superiority.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from the Ming dynasty novel "Jin Ping Mei Cihua" (The Plum in the Golden Vase) by Lanling Xiaoxiaosheng. In one passage, the narrator describes how someone, after singing a few lines of vulgar folk ditties that would never be put to paper, immediately begins to put on airs and act self-important. The expression captures the absurdity of adopting a haughty demeanor over trivial accomplishments.
💡 Example Usage
他不过是个小职员，却整天拿班做势，同事们都看不惯他。
He's just a minor clerk, yet he puts on airs all day long, and his colleagues can't stand him.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 拿班做势
- Pinyin: ná bān zuò shì
- Literal Translation: put on airs, make a posture
- Category: Attitude
- Characters: 4