疑心生暗鬼 — “Suspicion breeds imaginary fears and groundless delusions”
疑心生暗鬼 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “Suspicion breeds imaginary fears and groundless delusions”. Literally, “Suspicious heart gives birth to hidden ghosts”.
Frequency
疑心生暗鬼 Pronunciation and Pinyin
- 疑yí
- 心xīn
- 生shēng
- 暗àn
- 鬼guǐ
疑心生暗鬼 Character Breakdown
Example Sentence with 疑心生暗鬼
他生性多疑，总是疑心生暗鬼，哪怕一点风吹草动都会让他寝食难安。
He is naturally suspicious, always letting suspicion breed imaginary fears, so even a slight disturbance makes him restless.
Origin and Story of 疑心生暗鬼
Once upon a time, there lived a man named Juanshu Liang, who was inherently foolish and timid.
One beautiful moonlit night, as he was making his way home, he noticed a dark shadow constantly following him, shifting in size. He immediately assumed it was a ghost stalking him and fled home in terror.
Tragically, it was his own shadow, cast by the moonlight, that ultimately frightened him to death.
Idioms Related to 疑心生暗鬼
Synonyms of 疑心生暗鬼
More idioms starting with 疑
- yí疑sān三huò惑sì四full of doubts and suspicions
- yí疑shì事wú无gōng功Doubtful actions lead to no success
- yí疑shì事wú无gōng功，，yí疑xíng行wú无míng名Doubtful actions yield no success
- yí疑yún云mǎn满fù腹full of doubts and suspicions
- yí疑rén人wù勿yòng用，，yòng用rén人wù勿yí疑Trust those you employ; don't employ those you doubt
- yí疑rén人yí疑guǐ鬼to be overly suspicious
- yí疑sì似zhī之jiān间between doubt and certainty
- yí疑xìn信cān参bàn半half-believing and half-doubting
- yí疑tuán团mǎn满fù腹full of doubts and unanswered questions
- yí疑tuán团mò莫shì释doubts cannot be dispelled
- yí疑xīn心shēng生guǐ鬼Suspicion breeds imaginary dangers
- yí疑huò惑bù不jiě解perplexed and bewildered
Questions about 疑心生暗鬼
- What does 疑心生暗鬼 mean?
- 疑心生暗鬼 (yí xīn shēng àn guǐ) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “Suspicion breeds imaginary fears and groundless delusions”.
- How do you pronounce 疑心生暗鬼?
- 疑心生暗鬼 is pronounced yí xīn shēng àn guǐ in Mandarin Chinese.
- What does 疑心生暗鬼 literally mean?
- Literally, 疑心生暗鬼 means “Suspicious heart gives birth to hidden ghosts”. It is used to mean “Suspicion breeds imaginary fears and groundless delusions”.
- Where does 疑心生暗鬼 come from?
- 疑心生暗鬼 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
- What is the Chinese definition of 疑心生暗鬼?
- 指因为多疑而产生各种幻觉和错误判断。