葉公好龍 yè gōng hào lóng

DEFINITIONS

  1. lit. Lord Ye's passion for dragons (idiom)
  2. fig. to pretend to be fond of sth while actually fearing it
  3. ostensible fondness of sth one really fears

CHARACTERS

葉 yè leaf, petal; page of book; period
公 gōng
HSK 2
fair, equitable; public; duke
好 hào
HSK 1
good, excellent, fine; well
龍 lóng dragon; symbolic of emperor