亡羊补牢

wáng yáng bǔ láo

  • Meaning

    Literal

    To mend the pen after sheep dies

    Usage

    When, after experiencing some sort of issue, someone takes timely steps to ensure that they don't face that issue again

  • Connotation

    Positive

  • Usage Examples

    这次试验没有成功,我们应该亡羊补牢,认真总结教训 | Zhè cì shìyàn méiyǒu chénggōng, wǒmen yīnggāi wángyángbǔláo, rènzhēn zǒngjié jiàoxùn
    The experiment failed this time around. We should learn from this failure and take steps to ensure it doesn't happen again
    [Source]

    墙虽然坏了,但只要及时补,就能做到亡羊补牢 | Qiáng suīrán huàile, dàn zhǐyào jíshí bǔ, jiù néng zuò dào wángyángbǔláo
    The wall is broken, but if it's quickly repaired then this can be prevented from happening again
    [Source]

  • Equivalents

    English

    None

    Chinese

    None

  • Entry Notes

    None

  • Origin

    《战国策》(Zhàn Gúo Cè, Strategies of the Warring States), a work which chronicled the Warring States Period (475 - 220 BC)

  • Story

    In ancient times, there lived a man who raised sheep. One morning, he went to let his flock out to graze, and he was astounded to discover that one of his sheep had gone missing. After investigation, he discovered that the sheep pen had a very large hole in it. He suspected that a wolf had been able to crawl inside the pen at night and drag his sheep away.

    When his neighbors found out, they all urged him to fix the hole immediately. However, he didn't see a point in doing that, and he asked rhetorically, "The sheep is already gone. What is repairing the hole going to do?"

    The next morning, he woke and found that yet another sheep had gone missing in the same fashion as the first one. He immediately regretted that he hadn't listened to his neighbors, and he quickly moved to repair the hole. From then on, the wolf was unable to take any more sheep.

  • Citations and Helpful Resources

    • 汉语成语小词典 (hànyǔ chéngyǔ xiǎo cídiǎn)
    • 现代汉语规范词典 (xiàndài hànyǔ guīfàn cídiǎn)
    • 多功能成语词典 (duō gōngnéng chéngyǔ cídiǎn)
    • 汉语大词典 (hànyǔ dà cídiǎn)
    • ABC Chinese-English Comprehensive Dictionary
    • Pleco Basic Chinese-English Dictionary
    • 百度百科[x]
    • 职场指南网[x]
    • 中国华文教育网[x]
    • 故事无忧[x]
    • 故事大全网[x]