📖 Meaning
This idiom describes a person who is weak and indecisive when handling matters. Someone who is 柔茹寡断 tends to hesitate and fail to make firm decisions, often letting opportunities slip away. It is a variant of the more common form 柔懦寡断.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom is a descriptive compound rather than one tied to a single classical anecdote. The component 柔茹 (soft and yielding) pairs with 寡断 (lacking in decisive judgment) to depict a temperament of weak resolve. Such phrasing appears in later Chinese commentarial and literary traditions that contrasted firm, decisive rulers with those who vacillated. It belongs to a family of idioms warning against indecisiveness in governance and daily conduct.
💡 Example Usage
他生性柔茹寡断，遇到要拍板的事总是拖到最后。
He is weak-willed and indecisive by nature, always putting off anything that requires him to make a firm call.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 柔茹寡断
- Pinyin: róu rú guǎ duàn
- Literal Translation: soft, yielding, lacking, decisiveness
- Category: Determination
- Characters: 4