oi3 zi1 juk6 kei4 sang1 wu3 zi1 juk6 kei4 sei2愛之欲其生，惡之欲其死爱之欲其生，恶之欲其死

Jyutpingoi3 zi1 juk6 kei4 sang1 wu3 zi1 juk6 kei4 sei2

Yaleoi jī yuhk kèih sāng wu jī yuhk kèih séi

Definition

To treat someone according to one's personal likes and dislikes, wishing life for those loved and death for those hated.

writtenpeopleemotion

How it's used

This classical idiom describes an extreme form of bias where one's emotional state dictates how they treat others. It is often used to criticize someone for being irrational or inconsistent in their judgment. Because it is a formal literary phrase, it is usually dropped into casual conversation to add a sense of gravity or to emphasize the severity of someone's unfair behavior.

Examples

keoi5佢deoi3對jan4人oi3愛zi1之欲juk6其kei4生，saang1惡wu3之欲zi1其juk6死，kei4好sei2難hou2相naan4處。

He treats people based on his own whims, it is very hard to get along with him.

zou6做jan4人m4唔hou2好oi3愛zi1之欲juk6其kei4生，saang1惡wu3之欲zi1其juk6死，kei4要sei2公jiu3平gung1啲。

Don't be so extreme in your likes and dislikes, try to be fairer.

Common phrases

gik6極dyun1端ge3嘅oi3愛zi1之欲juk6其kei4生，saang1惡wu3之欲zi1其juk6死

extreme bias in likes and dislikes

Common mistake

Learners often struggle to integrate this long idiom into a natural sentence structure. It functions as a descriptive phrase for a person's character or behavior, so it is best used after a subject or as a predicate describing how someone acts.