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

chī

variant of 吃[chi1]

no; not so

dào

to reach; to arrive

abbr. for 葡萄牙[Pu2 tao2 ya2]

tao

used in 葡萄[pu2 tao5]

shuō

to speak; to talk; to say

abbr. for 葡萄牙[Pu2 tao2 ya2]

tao

used in 葡萄[pu2 tao5]

suān

sour