CHENGYU
图穷匕见(tú qióng bǐ xiàn)meaning, story and origin
- Register:
- literary
- Source:
- 《战国策·燕策三》
MEANING
- Literal
- the map unrolls and the dagger appears
- Figurative meaning
- the true intention is revealed at the last moment
ORIGIN STORY
Jing Ke presented the king of Qin with a map, hiding a dagger in its roll. As he unrolled the map to the end, the dagger appeared — the assassination plot was exposed. The king dodged, and Jing Ke fell.
NATURAL EQUIVALENT
“to show one's true colors”
EXAMPLES
聊到最后，对方图穷匕见，说出了真正目的。Liáo dào zuìhòu, duìfāng tú qióng bǐ xiàn, shuō chū le zhēnzhèng mùdì.HSK6
At the end of the talk, the dagger showed — the other side revealed its real aim.
谈判拖了半年，他们终于图穷匕见了。Tánpàn tuō le bàn nián, tāmen zhōngyú tú qióng bǐ xiàn le.HSK6
After six months of talks, the map finally unrolled and the dagger appeared.
COMMON MISTAKE
Watch out: Note the reading: 见 is xiàn (to appear), not jiàn (to see).
CHARACTER BREAKDOWN
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TRUST & SOURCES
- Reviewed by
- AI-assisted editorial review
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-15
- CC-CEDICT 2026-01-01