自相矛盾zì xiāng máo dùnto contradict oneself

1. 1.

   to contradict oneselfidiom

2. 2.

   self-contradictoryidiom

3. 3.

   inconsistentidiom

Figurative meaning

To contradict oneself; self-contradictory; inconsistent.

• 自self; oneself
• 相each other
• 矛spear; lance; pike
• 盾shield

No attested origin story

自相矛盾 can describe what someone says or writes, and it can follow 前后 to stress that earlier and later words disagree.

1. HSK 4

   他前后说的不一样，自相矛盾。

   Tā qiánhòu shuō de bù yíyàng, zì xiāng máo dùn.

   What he said before and after doesn't match; he contradicts himself.

2. HSK 2

   你一会儿说喜欢，一会儿说不喜欢，这不是自相矛盾吗？

   Nǐ yíhuìr shuō xǐhuan, yíhuìr shuō bù xǐhuan, zhè bú shì zì xiāng máo dùn ma?

   One moment you say you like it, the next you say you don't. Isn't that contradicting yourself?

1. 
   Speaker A:

   我不喜欢吃鱼。

   Wǒ bù xǐhuan chī yú.

   I don't like eating fish.

2. 
   Speaker B:

   可是你昨天吃了很多鱼。

   Kěshì nǐ zuótiān chī le hěn duō yú.

   But you ate a lot of fish yesterday.

3. 
   Speaker A:

   昨天的鱼很好吃。

   Zuótiān de yú hěn hǎochī.

   Yesterday's fish was tasty.

4. 
   Speaker B:

   你这不是自相矛盾吗？

   Nǐ zhè bú shì zì xiāng máo dùn ma?

   Aren't you contradicting yourself?

1. 1.What does 自相矛盾 mean?

   ATo contradict oneselfBTo fight with a spearCTo agree with everyone
2. 2.Which sentence uses 自相矛盾 correctly?

   A他前后说的不一样，自相矛盾。B今天天气很自相矛盾。C我自相矛盾地喝水。
3. 3.Which word fits best? 你一会儿说要，一会儿说不要，真是____。 (You say yes one moment and no the next; you really contradict yourself.)

   A亡羊补牢B自相矛盾C打草惊蛇

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Related idioms

• 息息相关xī xī xiāng guānclosely bound up (idiom); intimately relatedHSK 7–9
• 自由自在zì yóu zì zàifree and easyNot on the HSK 3.0 syllabus
• 一举两得yì jǔ liǎng détwo birds with one stoneHSK 7–9
• 一如既往yì rú jì wǎng(idiom) just as in the past; as before; continuing as alwaysHSK 7–9
• 一目了然yí mù liǎo ránobvious at a glance (idiom)HSK 7–9
• 不可思议bù kě sī yìinconceivable; unimaginable; unfathomableHSK 7–9

Browse every entry in the Chinese idioms dictionary.