吃閉門羹

Chinese

	eat; eradicate; destroy eat; eradicate; destroy; receive; stammer	closed-door soup; denial of entrance
trad. (吃閉門羹)	吃	閉門羹
simp. (吃闭门羹)	吃	闭门羹
Literally: “to eat ‘closed-door soup’”.

Etymology

From the story of the famous Tang dynasty courtesan Shi Feng (史鳳), who would stratify her numerous clients by their social status. The finest guests would appropriately be given the finest treatment, whereas the lowest-level guests would be greeted with a closed door and a bowl of thick soup.

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): chī bìméngēng

(Zhuyin): ㄔㄅㄧˋ ㄇㄣˊ ㄍㄥ
Cantonese (Jyutping): hek³ bai³ mun⁴ gang¹

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: chī bìméngēng
  - Zhuyin: ㄔㄅㄧˋ ㄇㄣˊ ㄍㄥ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: chih bìméngeng
  - Wade–Giles: chʻih¹ pi⁴-mên²-kêng¹
  - Yale: chr̄ bì-mén-gēng
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: chy bihmengeng
  - Palladius: чи бимэньгэн (či bimɛnʹgɛn)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʈ͡ʂʰʐ̩⁵⁵ pi⁵¹ mən³⁵ kɤŋ⁵⁵/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
  - Jyutping: hek³ bai³ mun⁴ gang¹
  - Yale: hek bai mùhn gāng
  - Cantonese Pinyin: hek⁸ bai³ mun⁴ gang¹
  - Guangdong Romanization: hég³ bei³ mun⁴ geng¹
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /hɛːk̚³ pɐi̯³³ muːn²¹ kɐŋ⁵⁵/

Verb

吃閉門羹

(idiomatic, figurative) to be refused admission as an unwelcome guest; to be rejected or refused

Synonyms

(Cantonese) 摸門釘／摸门钉 (mo² mun⁴ deng¹)