穿井得人 — “Digging a well gets a person”
穿井得人 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to have a story or information become distorted or exaggerated as it is passed from person to person; to misrepresent the truth through rumor”. Literally, “Digging a well gets a person”.
穿井得人 Pronunciation and Pinyin
穿井得人 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 穿井得人
Origin and Story of 穿井得人
During the Spring and Autumn period, there was a family named Ding in the State of Song who did not have a well at home and had to fetch water from a distant place daily.
Later, Mr. Ding hired someone to help him dig a well. He felt that by having his own well, he had effectively 'gained' a person's labor because he no longer needed to spend time fetching water. So, he told everyone he met, 'I dug a well and gained a person' (meaning saved a laborer).
However, as his words spread, they were misunderstood and distorted. People began to say that the Ding family had actually dug up a person from the well, completely changing the original meaning of his statement.
Idioms Related to 穿井得人
Synonyms of 穿井得人
More idioms starting with 穿
- chuān穿yī一tiáo条kù裤zi子to be in cahoots
- chuān穿yún云liè裂shí石pierce clouds and split stones
- chuān穿záo凿fù傅huì会make a forced analogy
- chuān穿záo凿fù附huì会force connections; twist facts
- chuān穿bì壁yǐn引guāng光study diligently despite poverty
- chuān穿fáng房rù入hù户move freely in and out of a host's home
- chuān穿wén文záo凿jù句over-refine writing to be pedantic
- chuān穿yáng杨guàn贯shī虱possess superb marksmanship or extraordinary skill
- chuān穿zhuó着dǎ打bàn扮style of dress and appearance
- chuān穿xué穴yú逾qiáng墙break in by making a hole and climbing over a wall
- chuān穿yú窬zhī之dào盗a burglar or thief
- chuān穿hóng红zhuó着lǜ绿dressed in vibrant and colorful attire
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Open the tool →Questions about 穿井得人
What does 穿井得人 mean?
穿井得人 (chuān jǐng dé rén) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to have a story or information become distorted or exaggerated as it is passed from person to person; to misrepresent the truth through rumor”.
How do you pronounce 穿井得人?
穿井得人 is pronounced chuān jǐng dé rén in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 穿井得人 literally mean?
Literally, 穿井得人 means “Digging a well gets a person”. It is used to mean “to have a story or information become distorted or exaggerated as it is passed from person to person; to misrepresent the truth through rumor”.
Where does 穿井得人 come from?
穿井得人 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 穿井得人?
穿井：打井。指家中打井后省得一个劳力，却传说成打井时挖得一个人。比喻话传来传去而失真。