hong2 taa1 jan4 zi1 koi3慷他人之慨
Jyutpinghong2 taa1 jan4 zi1 koi3
Yalehóng tā yàhn jī koi
Definition
To be generous at others' expense; to use other people's resources to gain favor or look good.
colloquialpeopleother
How it's used
This idiom carries a strong sense of moral disapproval and is used to criticize someone who seeks social credit or reputation by giving away resources that do not belong to them. It is frequently applied in workplace or family contexts where an individual forces others to contribute to a cause or gift while they personally bear no cost. The phrase highlights the hypocrisy of performative generosity.
Examples
He is always generous at others' expense, using company money to treat people.
Don't be generous at my expense by giving away my things to others.
Related words
Common phrases
to be generous at others' expense
Common mistake
Learners often mistake this for a simple way to describe being generous, but it is exclusively used as a criticism of someone's lack of integrity. It is never used to describe genuine charity or personal sacrifice.
Grammar color guide
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Grammar guides
- Directional complementsThe small words added after a verb to show direction of movement, like up, down, out, in, and back. Common in everyday Cantonese.
- DemonstrativesThis and that with 呢 and 嗰, the personal pronouns, and how 哋 turns I, you, and he into we, you all, and they.
- Resultative complementsSticking a result word onto a verb to show how it turned out, like eat until full or look and find. A productive everyday pattern.
