中国人常说“一诺千金”,意思是“A promise is weightier than one thousand bars of gold”。做出承诺就应该去兑现,不应该“出尔反尔”。
“出尔反尔”,汉语成语,多指自己说了或做了,后来又反悔。比喻言行自相矛盾,反复无常,说话不算数(promise and then deny in succession;be inconsistent in one's words)。可以翻译为“go back on one's word”或“ renege on one's word”,表示“to break a promise that one has made;to not do something one said one would do”。
- 你答应支持我们的项目,现在却出尔反尔!
You made a commitment to support our project, and now you've gone back on your word! - 我生气是因为你出尔反尔!
I am mad at you because you reneged on your promise! - 我不想出尔反尔,但是我不会付你100美元的。
I hate to go back on my word, but I won't pay you $100.