亡羊補牢

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Chinese

to die; to perish caprid
 
to repair; to patch; to mend
to repair; to patch; to mend; to make up for; to fill (a vacancy); to supplement
 firm; fast
trad. (亡羊補牢) 亡 羊 補 牢
simp. (亡羊补牢) 亡 羊 补 牢
Literally: “to repair the pen after sheep is lost”.

Etymology

From Zhan Guo Ce:

見兔而顧犬，未為晚也；亡羊而補牢，未為遲也。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
见兔而顾犬，未为晚也；亡羊而补牢，未为迟也。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
From: Zhanguo Ce, circa 5th – 3rd centuries BCE
Jiàn tù ér gù quǎn, wèi wéi wǎn yě; wáng yáng ér bǔ láo, wèi wéi chí yě.
Sending the hunting dogs outside only when one sees the rabbits is not considered too late, and repairing a sheep pen only after a sheep is lost is not considered tardy.

This is also the origin for the idiom 見兔顧犬／见兔顾犬.

Pronunciation

Idiom

亡羊補牢

  1. to close the stable door after the horse has bolted; to act belatedly
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