Lingaku- lit. to clasp the Buddha's feet when danger arises (idiom); fig. to profess devotion only when in trouble
- doing things at the last minute
- to make a hasty last-minute effort (often refers to cramming for exams)
Generated definitions (experimental)
- to profess devotion only when in trouble
- doing things at the last minute
- to make a hasty last-minute effort
This idiom describes the behavior of people who only seek help or show devotion in times of crisis, rather than maintaining a consistent practice or relationship.
tā他píng shí平时bù不nǔ lì努力xué xí学习，xiàn zài现在kǎo shì考试lín jìn临近cái才kāi shǐ开始fù xí复习，zhēn shi真是lín shí bào fó jiǎo临时抱佛脚。
He usually doesn't study hard, but now that the exam is approaching, he's finally started reviewing; it's truly a last-minute effort.
tā她zhī qián之前cóng lái bù从来不qù去jiào táng教堂，zuì jìn最近què却yīn wèi因为yù dào遇到kùn nan困难ér而pín fán频繁qù去dǎo gào祷告。
She had never gone to church before, but recently she has been praying frequently because she's in trouble.
This meaning emphasizes the tendency to procrastinate and then rush to complete tasks right before a deadline, highlighting a lack of planning or foresight.
tā他zǒng shì总是děng dào等到zuì hòu最后yī一tiān cái天才kāi shǐ开始xiě写lùn wén论文，zhēn shi真是xí guàn xìng习惯性de地tuō yán拖延。
He always waits until the last day to start writing his paper; it's a habitual procrastination.
xǔ duō许多xué sheng学生zài在kǎo shì考试qián yī tiān前一天cái才kāi shǐ开始fù xí复习，zhè zhǒng这种lín shí bào fó jiǎo临时抱佛脚de的xíng wéi行为hěn很cháng jiàn常见。
Many students only start reviewing the day before the exam; this last-minute effort behavior is very common.
This meaning conveys the idea of quickly trying to accomplish something important without adequate preparation, often leading to suboptimal results.
tā他lín shí bào fó jiǎo临时抱佛脚，xī wàng希望Néng能zài在duǎn shí jiān短时间nèi内jì zhu记住suǒ yǒu所有de的zhī shi知识diǎn点。
He is making a hasty last-minute effort, hoping to memorize all the key points in a short time.
zài在xiàng mù项目jié zhǐ截止qián前，tā men他们cái才cōng máng匆忙kāi shǐ开始gōng zuò工作，jiē guǒ结果dǎo zhì导致le了hěn很duō多cuò wù错误。
They hurriedly started working on the project right before the deadline, which resulted in many mistakes.
Generated collocations (experimental)
píng shí平时bù不shāo xiāng烧香to only seek help in times of troublelín shí bào fó jiǎo临时抱佛脚to make a hasty last-minute effortlín shí临时bào抱Fó佛jiǎo脚shì式de的xué xí学习cramming-style learningbù不shāo xiāng烧香，lín shí临时qiú求Fó佛to fail to prepare and only ask for help in emergenciescōng máng匆忙bào fó jiǎo抱佛脚to rush for help at the last minutelín zhèn临阵bào fó jiǎo抱佛脚to make a desperate effort just before a deadlinetū jī突击fù xí复习to review intensively right before an examshì dào lín tóu事到临头to wait until the last moment to take actionqiú求Fó佛zhī只zài在wēi nàn危难shí kè时刻to seek spiritual help only in times of needbù不qiú求píng shí平时jī lěi积累to neglect regular preparation