吃不到葡萄说葡萄酸

chī bù dào pú tao shuō pú tao suān

sour grapes (set expr. based on Aesop)

lit. to say grapes are sour when you can't eat them

吃

chī

variant of 吃[chi1]

不

bù

no; not so

到

dào

to reach; to arrive

葡

pú

abbr. for 葡萄牙[Pu2 tao2 ya2]

萄

tao

used in 葡萄[pu2 tao5]

说

shuō

to speak; to talk; to say

葡

pú

abbr. for 葡萄牙[Pu2 tao2 ya2]

萄

tao

used in 葡萄[pu2 tao5]

酸

suān

sour