Definition
招摇 (zhāo yáo) means to deliberately attract attention by being flashy or ostentatious, almost always with a negative tone. It appears in the common idiom 招摇过市 (to swagger through the streets), but can also be used alone or as 招摇撞骗 (to swindle by posing as someone important). It's a verb that usually describes behavior that is seen as showy or improper.
v.
to act ostentatiouslyto show off (pejorative)
Examples
- 招摇，。Tā chuān de zhèyàng zhāo yáo, dàjiā dōu kàn bu guàn.She dresses so flashily that everyone finds it off-putting.
- 招摇，。Tā xǐhuan zài gōnggòng chǎnghé zhāo yáo, ràng rén juéde hěn bù shūfu.He likes to show off in public, which makes people very uncomfortable.
- ，。Nàxiē piànzi zài jiēshàng zhāo yáo zhuàng piàn, yǐjīng bèi jǐngchá zhuā le.Those swindlers were parading and cheating on the street, and the police have already caught them.
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