老奸巨猾 — “An old fox”
老奸巨猾 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “an old fox”. An extremely cunning, treacherous, and astute person; an old hand at sly maneuvering. Literally, “Old, greatly treacherous and crafty”.
Frequency
老奸巨猾 Pronunciation and Pinyin
- 老lǎo
- 奸jiān
- 巨jù
- 猾huá
老奸巨猾 Character Breakdown
Example Sentence with 老奸巨猾
那位商人表面看起来很和善，实则老奸巨猾，谈判时总是能占尽便宜。
That businessman appears kind on the surface, but he is actually an old fox, always managing to gain every advantage during negotiations.
Origin and Story of 老奸巨猾
During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, Chancellor Li Linfu was an extremely cunning and insidious person. On the surface, he pretended to be loyal and benevolent, always speaking sweet words, but often harbored malicious schemes. Those he entrapped even thought he was loyal.
He would curry favor with and alienate anyone Emperor Xuanzong trusted, secretly attacking and retaliating against them.
Idioms Related to 老奸巨猾
Synonyms of 老奸巨猾
Antonyms of 老奸巨猾
More idioms starting with 老
- lǎo老bù不xiǎo晓shì事old and muddled
- lǎo老zhī之jiāng将zhì至old age is approaching
- lǎo老yú于shì世gù故worldly-wise and experienced
- lǎo老sēng僧rù入dìng定deeply absorbed and still
- lǎo老bā八bèi辈zi子extremely old-fashioned
- lǎo老yī医shǎo少bo卜Each has their own strengths
- lǎo老gǔ古bǎn板an old-fashioned stick-in-the-mud
- lǎo老gǔ古dǒng董old-fashioned person or thing
- lǎo老wú吾lǎo老yǐ以jí及rén人zhī之lǎo老Respect all elders as your own
- lǎo老dà大tú徒shāng伤Regret wasted youth in old age
- lǎo老dà大tú徒shāng伤bēi悲lament wasted youth in old age
- lǎo老dà大wú无chéng成grow old without achieving anything
Questions about 老奸巨猾
- What does 老奸巨猾 mean?
- 老奸巨猾 (lǎo jiān jù huá) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “an old fox”.
- How do you pronounce 老奸巨猾?
- 老奸巨猾 is pronounced lǎo jiān jù huá in Mandarin Chinese.
- What does 老奸巨猾 literally mean?
- Literally, 老奸巨猾 means “Old, greatly treacherous and crafty”. It is used to mean “an old fox”.
- Where does 老奸巨猾 come from?
- 老奸巨猾 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
- What is the Chinese definition of 老奸巨猾?
- 猾：狡诈。指非常阴险狡诈的人。