Wáng yáng bǔ láo, (yóu wèi wéi wǎn).

亡羊補牢, (猶未為晚)。

Lit [After] losing sheep, mending the fold (is still not too late).

Fig It is not too late to mend the fold, even after (some of) the sheep have been lost. “Better late than never.”

Note [The first half is often used alone as a chengyu: wángyáng-bǔláo; note: this is not “locking the barn after the horse has bolted”; see also jiàn tù gù quǎn above.]

Topics chengyu LATENESS LOSS STRATEGY TIMING wángyáng-bǔláo