Home / Chinese Wisdom Cards / 酒肉朋友好交,患难之交难找
Friendship Interesting

酒肉朋友好交,患难之交难找

jiǔ ròu péng yǒu hǎo jiāo, huàn nàn zhī jiāo nán zhǎo
Fair-weather friends are easy to make; true friends in adversity are hard to find.

wine-meat friends easy to make, adversity friendship hard to find

It's easy to attract people who want to share your good fort...

It's easy to attract people who want to share your good fortune, but finding someone who will stand by you through hardship is rare. This saying encourages cherishing those who prove loyal in difficult times.

This is a common proverb in Chinese social wisdom, reflecting the high value placed on loyalty and the realistic understanding that many relationships are transactional.

Someone might say this after experiencing a setback and noticing that only a few people offered real help, while many who partied with them vanished.

It serves as a social filter — reminding people not to mistake popularity for genuine connection. It also validates those who do stay loyal, elevating them to a special moral status.

#friendship #hard-times #human-nature

Discover More Chinese Sayings

Draw random cards from hundreds of real Chinese folk sayings and proverbs. Each flip reveals what Chinese people actually mean.

🎴 Play Chinese Wisdom Cards