







只准州官放火,不许百姓点灯 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “a double standard where those in power or with privilege are allowed to do things that are forbidden to ordinary people, illustrating hypocrisy and unfairness”. Literally, “Only local officials are allowed to set fires, while common people are forbidden to light lamps”.
| Character | Pinyin | Strokes | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| zhǐ | 5 | only, just, merely | |
| zhǔn | 10 | allow accurate standard quasi | |
| zhōu | 6 | ancient administrative division | |
| guān | 8 | official, organ | |
| fàng | 8 | release, let go, put | |
| huǒ | 4 | fire, urgent, popular | |
| , | , | — | |
| bù | 4 | not | |
| xǔ | 6 | permit, promise, perhaps | |
| bǎi | 6 | one hundred, numerous | |
| xìng | 8 | family name | |
| diǎn | 9 | point, dot, or spot | |
| dēng | 6 | lamp or lantern |

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Open the tool →只准州官放火,不许百姓点灯 (zhǐ zhǔn zhōu guān fàng huǒ , bù xǔ bǎi xìng diǎn dēng) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “a double standard where those in power or with privilege are allowed to do things that are forbidden to ordinary people, illustrating hypocrisy and unfairness”.
只准州官放火,不许百姓点灯 is pronounced zhǐ zhǔn zhōu guān fàng huǒ , bù xǔ bǎi xìng diǎn dēng in Mandarin Chinese.
Literally, 只准州官放火,不许百姓点灯 means “Only local officials are allowed to set fires, while common people are forbidden to light lamps”. It is used to mean “a double standard where those in power or with privilege are allowed to do things that are forbidden to ordinary people, illustrating hypocrisy and unfairness”.
州官:一州的长官。指反动统治者自己可以胡作非为,老百姓没有正当活动的自由