指南打北 — “To feign one thing while doing another”
指南打北 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to feign one thing while doing another”. To mislead an opponent by appearing to act in one direction while actually preparing to strike in another; to employ a deceptive tactic. Literally, “Point south, strike north”.
指南打北 Pronunciation and Pinyin
指南打北 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 指南打北
Idioms Related to 指南打北
Synonyms of 指南打北
More idioms starting with 指
- zhǐ指yī一shuō说shí十exaggerate a minor issue
- zhǐ指bù不shèng胜lǚ偻too many to count
- zhǐ指bù不shèng胜qū屈too many to count
- zhǐ指bù不shèng胜shù数too numerous to count
- zhǐ指dōng东huà划xī西talk evasively or beat around the bush
- zhǐ指dōng东huà画xī西Beat around the bush
- zhǐ指dōng东huà话xī西talk aimlessly or evasively
- zhǐ指dōng东shuō说xī西Beat around the bush
- zhǐ指dōng东mà骂xī西criticize indirectly
- zhǐ指shì事lèi类qíng情explain principles and illustrate situations
- zhǐ指qīn亲tuō托gù故claim kinship or feign acquaintance
Recommended tools
Character Highlight Animator
Choose character parts and animate their colors, together or in stroke order
Open the tool →
Bingo Cards
Picture and word Bingo for your class
Open the tool →
Stroke Order Animator
Turn a Chinese character or sentence into a GIF or MP4
Open the tool →
Picture Worksheets
Chinese and English fill-in vocabulary worksheets
Open the tool →Questions about 指南打北
What does 指南打北 mean?
指南打北 (zhǐ nán dǎ běi) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to feign one thing while doing another”.
How do you pronounce 指南打北?
指南打北 is pronounced zhǐ nán dǎ běi in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 指南打北 literally mean?
Literally, 指南打北 means “Point south, strike north”. It is used to mean “to feign one thing while doing another”.
What is the Chinese definition of 指南打北?
指着东方打西方，打得别人防不胜防