Chinese language vocabulary 汉语词汇 亡羊补牢 (Wáng Yáng Bǔ Láo）

Cóngqián, yǒu gè rén yǎng le yì qún yáng. Yì tiān zǎochén, tā fāxiàn shǎo le yì zhī, zǐxì yí kàn, yuánlái yángquān pò le gè kūlóng, yè lǐ láng zuàn jìn lái bǎ yáng diāo zǒu le yì zhī. Línjū quàn tā shuō:” gǎnkuài bǎ yángquān xiū yì xiū, dǔ shàng kūlóng ba!” Nà gè rén bù kěn jiē shòu quàngào, huídá shuō:” yáng yǐ jīng diū le, hái xiū yángquān gàn shénme? ” Dì èr tiān zǎoshàng, tā fāxiàn yáng yòu shǎo le yì zhī. Yuánlái, láng yòu cóng kūlóng zuàn jìnlái, diāo zǒu le yì zhī yang. Tā hěn hòuhuǐ zìjǐ méi tīng cóng línjū de quàngào, biàn gǎnkuài dǔ shàng kūlóng, xiū hǎo le yángquān. Cóngc, láng zài yě bù néng zuàn jìn yángquān diāo yáng le.
从前，有个人养了一群羊。一天早晨，他发现少了一只，仔细一看，原来羊圈破了个窟窿，夜里狼钻进来把羊叼走了一只。邻居劝他说：“赶快把羊圈修一修，堵上 窟窿吧！”那个人不肯接受劝告，回答说：“羊已经丢了，还修羊圈干什么？”第二天早上，他发现羊又少了一只。原来，狼又从窟窿钻进来，叼走了一只羊。他很 后悔自己没听从邻居的劝告，便赶快堵上窟窿，修好了羊圈。从此，狼再也不能钻进羊圈叼羊了。

once there was a man who raised a flock of sheep and kept them in a sheepfold. One morning, he went to the sheepfold and found that one of the sheep was missing. He examined the sheepfold and found a hole in it. A wolf must have sneaked in from the hole and carried off the sheep. His neighbor advised him to mend the hole as soon as possible. The man ignored his advice and said, “ Since the sheep is already lost, it is no use mending the hole”. The next morning, another sheep was lost. The wolf had come again and got one more sheep. He regretted very much for not listening to his neighbor’s advice. He mended the hole immediately and from then on the wolf came for his sheep no more.

Words：
 群qún： a flock of, herd (m.w.)
 羊圈yáng juàn： sheepfold(n.)
 窟窿kūlong： hole(n.)
 钻zuān： to get into, to enter (a hole) (v.)
 叼diāo： to hold in the mouth(v.)
 劝quàn： to persuade, to advise(v.)
 堵dǔ： to block(v.)
 后悔hòuhuǐ： regretful (adj.)

Meanings：

“亡”是“逃跑，丢失”的意思；“补”，修补；“牢”指的是关牲畜的圈，这里指“羊圈”。羊丢失了之后再去修羊圈，还不算晚。比喻人们一旦犯了错误，立即改正，就能减少错误；出了问题后，想办法补救，可以避免继续出现同样的损失。

In this idiom, “亡(wáng)” means “escape or lost”, and “补(bǔ)” means “to mend or repair”. “牢(láo)” refers to a fence which is used to keep livestock, and in the story it means “a sheepfold or sheepcote”. It is not too late to mend the sheepfold after the sheep have been lost. This idiom tells us that we can avoid more mistakes if we are able to correct the ones we have already committed. As long as we seek to remedy what we have done wrong, we’ll be able to avoid similar mistakes in the future.

Sentences：

1.Zhè cì méi kǎo hǎo, yào zhǎochū yuányīn xīqǔ jiāoxùn, wángyáng-bǔláo, wéishí-bùwǎn.
这次没考好，要找出原因吸取教训，亡羊补牢，为时不晚。

You should find out the reason why you failed the exam. Just like亡羊补牢, it’s never too late to draw a lesson from it.

2.Fàn le cuòwù bú yàojǐn, yào yǒng yú chéngrèn hé gǎizhèng, zuò dào wángyáng-bǔlá.
犯了错误不要紧，要勇于承认和改正，做到亡羊补牢。

It doesn’t matter that you made a mistake this time. You should亡羊补牢.