平 时 不 烧 香，临 时 抱 佛 脚

píng shí bù shāo xiāng , lín shí bào fó jiǎodictionary entry

(lit.) to never burn incense when all's well, but clutch Buddha's feet in a crisis (proverb) / (fig.) to neglect preparation until the last moment, then act in panic

Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-6c440d2bb9cbf5ff. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

平時不燒香，臨時抱佛腳 平时不烧香，临时抱佛脚 [ping2 shi2 bu4 shao1 xiang1 , lin2 shi2 bao4 fo2 jiao3] /(lit.) to never burn incense when all's well, but clutch Buddha's feet in a crisis (proverb)/(fig.) to neglect preparation until the last moment, then act in panic/

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Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

Other forms in these source records: 平時不燒香，臨時抱佛腳

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

平时不烧香临时抱佛脚

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.