疑心生鬼 — “Doubt breeds ghosts”
疑心生鬼 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “Unfounded suspicion can lead one to imagine dangers or threats that do not exist, causing self-inflicted fear and distress”. Literally, “Doubt breeds ghosts”.
Frequency
疑心生鬼 Pronunciation and Pinyin
- 疑yí
- 心xīn
- 生shēng
- 鬼guǐ
疑心生鬼 Character Breakdown
Example Sentence with 疑心生鬼
他总是疑心生鬼，常常觉得同事在背后说他坏话，其实大家都对他挺好的
He's always letting his suspicions breed ghosts, often feeling that his colleagues are speaking ill of him behind his back, when in reality, everyone thinks highly of him.
Origin and Story of 疑心生鬼
Once upon a time, there was a man named Juan Shuliang, who was naturally dull-witted and timid.
One moonlit night, as he was hurrying home, he noticed a dark shadow constantly following him. The shadow appeared to change in size, sometimes larger, sometimes smaller. He immediately assumed it was a ghost trailing him, and terrified, he ran home as fast as he could.
Tragically, in his panic, he didn't realize that the 'ghost' was merely his own shadow cast by the moonlight, and he scared himself to death.
Idioms Related to 疑心生鬼
Synonyms of 疑心生鬼
Antonyms of 疑心生鬼
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huò惑bù不jiě解perplexed and bewildered
Questions about 疑心生鬼
- What does 疑心生鬼 mean?
- 疑心生鬼 (yí xīn shēng guǐ) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “Unfounded suspicion can lead one to imagine dangers or threats that do not exist, causing self-inflicted fear and distress”.
- How do you pronounce 疑心生鬼?
- 疑心生鬼 is pronounced yí xīn shēng guǐ in Mandarin Chinese.
- What does 疑心生鬼 literally mean?
- Literally, 疑心生鬼 means “Doubt breeds ghosts”. It is used to mean “Unfounded suspicion can lead one to imagine dangers or threats that do not exist, causing self-inflicted fear and distress”.
- Where does 疑心生鬼 come from?
- 疑心生鬼 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
- What is the Chinese definition of 疑心生鬼?
- 指无中生有地乱猜疑，导致自己吓唬自己