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亡羊補牢 — better late than never: chengyu story and meaning

亡羊補牢 — Losses already taken are a reason to fix the cause, not to give up. Used to encourage action after a failure: repair the hole, then carry on.

Simplified

亡羊补牢

Literal meaning

to lose sheep and then mend the pen

Source

Zhanguo Ce (Strategies of the Warring States), Chu chapter

When to use it

Said after a setback to urge repair over regret, e.g. backing up data after a first hard-drive failure.

The story

A minister of the state of Chu warned his king that the state of Qin was preparing to attack and that the defences should be strengthened. The king ignored him. When Qin struck and Chu lost city after city, the same minister returned and said: one of my sheep has been stolen, so I am mending the pen — it is not too late. He then laid out a plan to rally the remaining troops and secure the surviving cities. The king finally listened, and Chu held. The saying keeps the shepherd's logic: count the loss, fix the fence, and the next flock survives.

Example

Characters

• 亡
• 羊
• 補
• 牢

More chengyu stories

• 畫蛇添足 (waak6 se4 tim1 zuk1) — To spoil something good by adding what it does not need. Used when extra touches make a finished job worse, not better.
• 守株待兔 (sau2 zyu1 doi6 tou3) — To hope lightning strikes twice instead of working for what you want. Used for people who copy a one-off lucky break instead of adapting.
• 掩耳盜鈴 (jim2 ji5 dou6 ling4) — To pretend a problem does not exist by blocking out the evidence, in a way that fools nobody but yourself. Used for self-deception that is obvious to everyone else.
• 刻舟求劍 (hak1 zau1 kau4 gim3) — To apply a fixed rule to a situation that has already moved on. Used when someone follows the letter of an old method after its conditions have vanished.

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