CHENGYU
掩耳盗铃(yǎn ěr dào líng)meaning, story and origin
- Register:
- literary
- Source:
- 《吕氏春秋·自知》
MEANING
- Literal
- to cover one's ears while stealing a bell
- Figurative meaning
- to deceive oneself; to pretend a problem does not exist
ORIGIN STORY
In the Lüshi Chunqiu, a thief who could not carry off a bell covered his ears while striking it, thinking that if he could not hear it, no one else could.
NATURAL EQUIVALENT
“to bury one's head in the sand”
EXAMPLES
不承认问题就是掩耳盗铃。Bù chéngrèn wèntí jiù shì yǎn ěr dào líng.HSK6
Refusing to admit the problem is just fooling yourself.
不检查身体就以为没病，那是掩耳盗铃。Bù jiǎnchá shēntǐ jiù yǐwéi méi bìng, nà shì yǎn ěr dào líng.HSK6
Skipping the checkup and assuming you are healthy is self-deception.
COMMON MISTAKE
Watch out: The one deceived is the actor themselves — not other people.
CHARACTER BREAKDOWN
Tap a character to explore it
TRUST & SOURCES
- Reviewed by
- AI-assisted editorial review
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-14
- CC-CEDICT 2026-01-01