敬酒不吃吃罚酒 in English jing4 jiu3 bu4 chi1 chi1 fa2 jiu3 Meaning

Meanings

  • to refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit
  • metaphorically to hesitate to do sth until forced to do even more

Simplified Characters

敬 酒 不 吃 吃 罚 酒

Traditional Characters

敬 酒 不 吃 吃 罰 酒

Pinyin

jing4 jiu3 bu4 chi1 chi1 fa2 jiu3

Literal

Literal explanation, with pronunciation and meaning of each character.

敬jing4to respect 酒jiu3wine (esp. rice wine) 不bu4(negative prefix) 吃chi1to eat 吃chi1to eat 罚fa2to punish 酒jiu3wine (esp. rice wine)