盗钟掩耳 — “Steal a bell and cover one's ears”
盗钟掩耳 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to deceive oneself by ignoring obvious facts or consequences, hoping that by doing so, others will also be unaware; to bury one's head in the sand”. Literally, “steal a bell and cover one's ears”.
盗钟掩耳 Pronunciation and Pinyin
盗钟掩耳 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 盗钟掩耳
Origin and Story of 盗钟掩耳
Once upon a time, a thief saw a large bronze bell hanging by someone's gate. He wanted to steal it, but it was too heavy for one person.
He then thought of smashing it into pieces to sell the scrap metal. However, he worried that the sound of breaking the bell would alert others, preventing him from completing the theft.
Finally, he came up with a 'brilliant' idea: he would plug his own ears with cotton so he wouldn't hear the sound.
As a result, he was caught red-handed while attempting the theft.
Idioms Related to 盗钟掩耳
Synonyms of 盗钟掩耳
More idioms starting with 盗
- dào盗yì亦yǒu有dào道Even outlaws have their code
- dào盗míng名àn暗shì世exploit chaos for false fame
- dào盗míng名qī欺shì世gain fame by deceiving the public
- dào盗sǎo嫂shòu受jīn金slandered for minor flaws or fabricated accusations
- dào盗yuàn怨zhǔ主rén人Evil people resent honest people
- dào盗zēng憎zhǔ主rén人Evil people hate upright individuals
- dào盗yù玉qiè窃gōu钩steal things of all sizes
- dào盗zéi贼fēng蜂qǐ起Bandits rising everywhere
- dào盗zhí跖zhī之wù物Ill-gotten gains
- dào盗líng铃yǎn掩ěr耳deceive oneself; bury one's head in the sand
- dào盗shí食zhì致bǎo饱to profit from ill-gotten gains
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Open the tool →Questions about 盗钟掩耳
What does 盗钟掩耳 mean?
盗钟掩耳 (dào zhōng yǎn ěr) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to deceive oneself by ignoring obvious facts or consequences, hoping that by doing so, others will also be unaware; to bury one's head in the sand”.
How do you pronounce 盗钟掩耳?
盗钟掩耳 is pronounced dào zhōng yǎn ěr in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 盗钟掩耳 literally mean?
Literally, 盗钟掩耳 means “steal a bell and cover one's ears”. It is used to mean “to deceive oneself by ignoring obvious facts or consequences, hoping that by doing so, others will also be unaware; to bury one's head in the sand”.
Where does 盗钟掩耳 come from?
盗钟掩耳 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 盗钟掩耳?
盗：盗窃；钟：古代一种乐器。偷钟时捂住自己的耳朵。比喻自欺欺人。