Meaning of 醉翁之意不在酒
醉翁之意不在酒 means to have an ulterior motive; to have a hidden agenda; lit. the drinker's heart is not in the cup. Pronounced zuì wēng zhī yì bù zài jiǔ.
- to have an ulterior motive; to have a hidden agenda; lit. the drinker's heart is not in the cup
Definitions & Examples
Tā他
shuō说
lái来
bāng帮
máng忙
，
qí其
shí实
shì是
zuì醉
wēng翁
zhī之
yì意
bù不
zài在
jiǔ酒
，
xiǎng想
jiē接
jìn近
wǒ我
nǚ女
ér儿
。
He said he came to help, but actually he had an ulterior motive—he wanted to get close to my daughter.
Lǎo老
bǎn板
qǐng请
dà大
jiā家
chī吃
fàn饭
，
dàn但
zuì醉
wēng翁
zhī之
yì意
bù不
zài在
jiǔ酒
，
shì是
xiǎng想
tǎo讨
lùn论
zhōu周
mò末
jiā加
bān班
de的
shì事
。
The boss treated everyone to dinner, but his heart wasn't in the meal—he wanted to discuss working overtime on weekends.
Tā他
sòng送
zhè这
me么
guì贵
de的
lǐ礼
wù物
，
zuì醉
wēng翁
zhī之
yì意
bù不
zài在
jiǔ酒
，
yī一
dìng定
yǒu有
qiú求
yú于
nǐ你
。
He gave such an expensive gift with an ulterior motive—he must want something from you.
Zhè这
piān篇
píng评
lùn论
kàn看
sì似
zài在
tán谈
diàn电
yǐng影
，
shí实
zé则
zuì醉
wēng翁
zhī之
yì意
bù不
zài在
jiǔ酒
，
shì是
zài在
fěng讽
cì刺
shè社
huì会
xiàn现
xiàng象
。
This review appears to be about cinema, but its real intention lies elsewhere—it is actually satirizing social phenomena.