司马称好 — “Sima praises good”
司马称好 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to describe a 'yes-man' or a 'people-pleaser' who indiscriminately agrees with everyone, often failing to distinguish right from wrong or understand principles, solely to avoid conflict or maintain a pleasant facade”. Literally, “Sima praises good”.
司马称好 Pronunciation and Pinyin
司马称好 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 司马称好
Origin and Story of 司马称好
During the Han Dynasty, Sima Hui was known for never speaking ill of anyone. In conversations, he would never inquire about people's preferences or dislikes; instead, he would always speak positively.
One day, a fellow villager came to ask about his well-being, and Sima Hui simply replied, "Good."
Later, someone else came to inform him that their son had passed away, and Sima Hui astonishingly responded, "That's great!" His wife, upon hearing this, scolded him, saying it was utterly immoral to say "great" when someone's son had died.
Sima Hui calmly replied, "What you said is also very good."
Idioms Related to 司马称好
More idioms starting with 司
- sī司nóng农yǎng仰wū屋Finance official helpless due to empty treasury
- sī司kōng空yǎn眼guàn惯a common sight
- sī司kōng空jiàn见guàn惯a common sight
- sī司mǎ马zhāo昭zhī之xīn心an open secret ambition
- sī司mǎ马zhāo昭zhī之xīn心，，lù路rén人jiē皆zhī知Sima Zhao's ambition is obvious
- sī司mǎ马niú牛zhī之tàn叹A lament for being utterly alone
- sī司mǎ马qīng青shān衫overwhelmed by extreme sadness
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Open the tool →Questions about 司马称好
What does 司马称好 mean?
司马称好 (sī mǎ chēng hǎo) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to describe a 'yes-man' or a 'people-pleaser' who indiscriminately agrees with everyone, often failing to distinguish right from wrong or understand principles, solely to avoid conflict or maintain a pleasant facade”.
How do you pronounce 司马称好?
司马称好 is pronounced sī mǎ chēng hǎo in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 司马称好 literally mean?
Literally, 司马称好 means “Sima praises good”. It is used to mean “to describe a 'yes-man' or a 'people-pleaser' who indiscriminately agrees with everyone, often failing to distinguish right from wrong or understand principles, solely to avoid conflict or maintain a pleasant facade”.
Where does 司马称好 come from?
司马称好 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 司马称好?
喻指老好人是非不分，事理不明。