顺手牵羊 in English shun4 shou3 qian1 yang2 Meaning

Meanings

  • literally (word for word) to lead away a goat while passing by (idiomatic expression)
  • metaphorically to opportunistically pocket somebody's possessions and walk off

Simplified Characters

顺 手 牵 羊

Traditional Characters

順 手 牽 羊

Pinyin

shun4 shou3 qian1 yang2

Literal

Literal explanation, with pronunciation and meaning of each character.

顺shun4to obey 手shou3hand 牵qian1to lead along 羊yang2surname Yang