拿腔作势 — “To put on airs”
拿腔作势 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to put on airs”. To strike an affected pose; to act in an affected or pretentious manner.
拿腔作势 Pronunciation and Pinyin
拿腔作势 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 拿腔作势
Origin and Story of 拿腔作势
In the classic novel 'Dream of the Red Chamber', Lady Wang instructed Jia Huan to copy the Diamond Sutra. Jia Huan, wanting to appear diligent or important, sat on Lady Wang's heated bed and had a candle lit. He then began to copy the sutra, '拿腔作势' (putting on airs and striking affected poses) as he wrote.
The maid Caixia, observing his pretentious manner, advised him to simply copy in a more straightforward way. However, Jia Huan, feeling slighted, accused Caixia of favoring Baoyu over him. Caixia, annoyed by his unreasonable behavior, retorted with the idiom 'a dog biting Lu Dongbin,' meaning he failed to recognize her good intentions.
Soon after, Baoyu and Wang Xifeng arrived, and Jia Huan, feeling frustrated, could only secretly harbor his resentment.
Idioms Related to 拿腔作势
More idioms starting with 拿
- ná拿yī一shǒu手put on airs to make demands
- ná拿sān三bān搬sì四make excuses to shirk duty
- ná拿sān三piē撇sì四to put on airs
- ná拿xià下mǎ马lái来subdue or overcome someone
- ná拿bù不chū出shǒu手too embarrassing to present
- ná拿yún云zhuō捉yuè月possess extraordinary talent and ability
- ná拿yún云wò握wù雾skillful and artful in handling situations
- ná拿yún云jué攫shí石towering, majestic, and awe-inspiring ancient trees
- ná拿dāo刀dòng动zhàng杖to resort to physical violence
- ná拿dāo刀nòng弄zhàng杖to wield weapons
- ná拿yìn印bà把zi子hold real power or authority
- ná拿jiān奸ná拿shuāng双catch adulterers in the act
Recommended tools
Character Highlight Animator
Choose character parts and animate their colors, together or in stroke order
Open the tool →
Stroke Order Animator
Turn a Chinese character or sentence into a GIF or MP4
Open the tool →
Writing Worksheets
Printable tracing sheets with a QR learning companion
Open the tool →
Bingo Cards
Picture and word Bingo for your class
Open the tool →Questions about 拿腔作势
What does 拿腔作势 mean?
拿腔作势 (ná qiāng zuò shì) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to put on airs”.
How do you pronounce 拿腔作势?
拿腔作势 is pronounced ná qiāng zuò shì in Mandarin Chinese.
Where does 拿腔作势 come from?
拿腔作势 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to the modern era. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 拿腔作势?
装模作样。