Chengyu Story: Plug One’s Ears While Stealing a Bell

Literally, 掩耳盗铃 (yǎn ěr dào línɡ) means “Plug One’s Ears While Stealing a Bell”. The stupid action of the thief tells us: It is impossible to cover up something that is obvious. One can’t deceive himself by burying his head in the sand.

 

One upon time, a thief went to steal things in Fan’s family. At the door, he found a bell which he thought must be very valuable. He decided to carry it away on his back, but the bell was too bulky and heavy to be carried. What should he do? After a while of brain storming, he decided to break it into pieces with a hammer to make it easier for carrying, thinking that even the pieces would be worth a lot of money.

The thief was so happy that he could come up with this excellent idea. On his first hit, however, the bell made a loud noise, which made the thief terribly frightened. The thief stopped immediately, thinking even a soft hit would generate this loud noise, let alone a hard one. But a thief never goes empty. Then he came up with another idea: I would cover my ears so that they could not hear the sound of the bell.

He immediately got some odd bits of cloth and had his ears plugged with the two cloth rolls. He thought that in this way nobody could hear the sound of the bell. Feeling relieved, he began striking the bell with full power. After one blow, the resounding sound of the bell was heard at distant places, and finally Fan people caught the thief and beat him to the ground. At this time, the thief was still wondering: How can you still hear the sound with my ears being covered. Everyone burst out into laughter when they heard the stupid saying from the thief.

 

How to use 掩耳盗铃:

 

衣服脏了懒得洗就藏起来,她总是这样掩耳盗铃。

yīfu zānɡle lǎndé xǐ jiù cánɡqǐlái, tā zǒnɡshì zhèyànɡ yǎn’ěrdàolínɡ

Instead of washing her dirty clothes, she often deceives herself by hiding them away.

 

你不做作业,还总觉得自己都会,完全就是掩耳盗铃。

nǐ búzuò zuòyè, hái zǒnɡ juédé zìjǐ dōuhuì, wánquán jiùshì yǎn’ěrdàolínɡ

You should not deceive yourself by pretending that you know everything. You don’t even finish your homework.


Post time: Jun-17-2020