沽名钓誉

• Pinyin: gū míng diào yù
• Hanzi breakdown: 沽 = 氵 (water) + 古 (ancient/enduring) — originally to sell wine; here to trade for gain; 名 = 夕 (evening/dark) + 口 (mouth) — a name called out in the dark; 钓 = 钅 (metal hook) + 勺 (hook shape) — to fish with a hook, to lure; 誉 = 兴 (to rise) + 言 (words) — praise built on words

Meaning

To fish for fame and compliments; to seek reputation through crafty or hypocritical means. An idiom describing someone who performs virtuous-seeming acts purely to gain public praise, without genuine sincerity.

A four-character chengyu with a strongly negative connotation. Used critically to describe people who chase fame through hollow or manipulative behaviour — ostentatious charitable donations staged for media coverage, feigned humility designed to appear noble, or good deeds performed purely for an audience. Common in political commentary, literary criticism, and ethical discussion.

Examples

1. 有些商人捐款时大张旗鼓地举办发布会，明显是沽名钓誉，而非出于真心。 Some businesspeople make a huge spectacle of their donations with press conferences—it’s clearly fishing for praise, not genuine goodwill.
2. 这位官员发表的那篇文章言辞华丽却空洞无物，不过是沽名钓誉之举，毫无实质内容。 That official’s article was ornate in wording but hollow in substance—just a bid for fame, with nothing of real value.
3. 真正有学问的人不屑于沽名钓誉，他们只专注于研究本身，从不追求外界的赞誉。 People with real learning disdain fishing for praise; they focus only on the research itself and never chase external acclaim.

Usage Guide

Context: politics, social criticism, literature, ethics, public figures

Tone: critical

Do Say

• 他频繁出席慈善晚会并对媒体大加宣扬，与其说是热心公益，不如说是在沽名钓誉。(His frequent appearances at charity galas accompanied by extensive media fanfare are less an expression of genuine goodwill than a calculated attempt to fish for fame and admiration.)
• 学界对这种为追求引用率而刻意迎合热点、缺乏真实贡献的研究行为，普遍视为沽名钓誉。(The academic community generally regards research that panders to trending topics purely for citation counts, without genuine contribution, as fishing for fame and prestige.)

Don't Say

• 将'沽名钓誉'用于褒义语境 — the idiom is inherently pejorative; use 追名逐利 for neutral description or 赢得声誉 for positive framing

Origin & History

沽 (to sell; to trade by calculating exchange) + 名 (fame; reputation) + 钓 (to fish; to lure with bait) + 誉 (honour; praise). Together: trading and baiting to lure fame and praise by cunning means.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Educated speakers