LookupMandarin · 繁體 · English

ChineseCharactersMeanings inMandarin–English · CC-CEDICTSources ↗

DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

掛羊頭賣狗肉

简挂羊头卖狗肉 · 繁掛羊頭賣狗肉

Mandarin · pinyin guà yáng tóu mài gǒu ròu

lit. to hang a sheep's head while selling dog meat (idiom)
fig. to cheat
dishonest advertising
wicked deeds carried out under banner of virtue

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

掛: guà · hang, suspend; suspense
羊: yáng · sheep, goat; Kangxi radical 123
頭: tóu · head; top; chief, first; boss
賣: Look up this written character
狗: gǒu · dog, Canis familiaris
肉: ròu · flesh; meat; Kangxi radical 130
挂: guà · hang, suspend; suspense
头: tóu · head; top; chief, first; boss
卖: mài · sell; betray; show off

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

4–2–2–4–3–4 · gua4 yang2 tou2 mai4 gou3 rou4

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

9character links

Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗

Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

gwaa3 joeng4 tau4 maai6 gau2 juk6

Cantonese word readings for 掛羊頭賣狗肉. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(figurative) to cry wine and sell vinegar; to do a bait and switch; to use a good cause as a cover for doing something bad

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack