CHENGYU
指鹿为马(zhǐ lù wéi mǎ)meaning, story and origin
- Register:
- formal
- Source:
- 《史记·秦始皇本纪》
MEANING
- Literal
- to point at a deer and call it a horse
- Figurative meaning
- to distort the truth brazenly; to call black white
ORIGIN STORY
The Qin minister Zhao Gao brought a deer to court and called it a horse, to test which officials would dare disagree with him; those who said "deer" were later purged.
NATURAL EQUIVALENT
“to call black white”
EXAMPLES
事实就在眼前，你还要指鹿为马吗？Shìshí jiù zài yǎnqián, nǐ hái yào zhǐ lù wéi mǎ ma?HSK6
The facts are right in front of you; will you still call a deer a horse?
他为了利益指鹿为马，颠倒黑白。Tā wèi le lìyì zhǐ lù wéi mǎ, diāndǎo hēibái.HSK6
For his own gain he twists the truth and calls black white.
COMMON MISTAKE
Watch out: Note the reading: 为 is wéi (to act as), not wèi (for).
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