Yong-du-sa-mi

龍

용 룡

頭

머리 두

蛇

뱀 사

尾

꼬리 미

Character by character

Meaning

A dragon's head on a snake's tail — a grand start that peters out.

Origin

The phrase appears in Chan Buddhist records, aimed at bluster without follow-through.

How it is used

Used of something launched loudly and quietly abandoned.

Hanja龍頭蛇尾

Simplified龙头蛇尾

Korean reading용두사미

Pinyinlóng tóu shé wěi

Frequently asked questions

Q. What does Yong-du-sa-mi mean?

龍頭蛇尾 · A dragon's head on a snake's tail — a grand start that peters out.

Q. Where does Yong-du-sa-mi come from?

The phrase appears in Chan Buddhist records, aimed at bluster without follow-through.

Q. How is Yong-du-sa-mi used?

Used of something launched loudly and quietly abandoned.

Idioms in the same group

有備無患 Yu-bi-mu-hwanIf you prepare in advance, there is nothing to worry about.易地思之 Yeok-ji-sa-jiThink about it after swapping places with the other person.初志一貫 Cho-ji-il-gwanCarry the resolve you started with all the way through, unchanged.名不虛傳 Myeong-bul-heo-jeonThe reputation was not passed on in vain — it lives up to the name.靑出於藍 Cheong-chul-eo-ramThe blue drawn from the indigo plant is bluer than the plant — the student surpasses the teacher.大器晩成 Dae-gi-man-seongA great vessel takes long to finish — those destined for greatness succeed late.

The idioms used in Korea mix phrases from the Chinese classics with ones coined in Korea. Where an expression is not used in China, the entry says so.