CHENGYU
放虎归山(fàng hǔ guī shān)meaning, story and origin
- Register:
- literary
- Source:
- 晋·司马彪《零陵先贤传》
MEANING
- Literal
- to release the tiger back to its mountain
- Figurative meaning
- to spare a dangerous enemy who will return stronger
ORIGIN STORY
When the governor Liu Zhang welcomed the ambitious Liu Bei into his land, his adviser warned: "To send Liu Bei against Zhang Lu is to release a tiger into the mountains." Liu Zhang ignored him — and the tiger took everything.
NATURAL EQUIVALENT
“to let the fox back into the henhouse”
EXAMPLES
放了那个骗子就是放虎归山。Fàng le nà ge piànzi jiù shì fàng hǔ guī shān.HSK6
Letting that swindler go is releasing a tiger back to its mountain.
这次不抓住机会，等于放虎归山。Zhè cì bù zhuāzhù jīhuì, děngyú fàng hǔ guī shān.HSK6
Missing this chance is letting the tiger return to the hills.
COMMON MISTAKE
Watch out: It warns against mercy toward a real threat — not against second chances in general.
CHARACTER BREAKDOWN
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TRUST & SOURCES
- Reviewed by
- AI-assisted editorial review
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-15
- CC-CEDICT 2026-01-01