掩耳盗铃yǎn ěr dào língto deceive oneself

1. 1.

   to deceive oneselfidiom

2. 2.

   to bury one's head in the sandidiom

Figurative meaning

To deceive oneself; to bury one's head in the sand.

Literal meaning

To cover one's ears whilst stealing a bell.

• 掩to cover up; to conceal
• 耳ear
• 盗to steal
• 铃(small) bell

The story

When the Fan clan fell, a commoner found a bell and wanted to carry it off on his back, but it was too big to carry. He broke it with a hammer, and it rang out loudly. Afraid that others would hear it and take it from him, he quickly covered his own ears.

掩耳盗铃 can describe someone who ignores an obvious problem instead of facing it.

1. HSK 3

   问题已经发现了，不说也是掩耳盗铃。

   Wèntí yǐjīng fāxiàn le, bù shuō yě shì yǎn ěr dào líng.

   The problem has already been found; not talking about it is just deceiving yourself.

2. HSK 3

   他不看成绩，以为这样就没问题，这是掩耳盗铃。

   Tā bú kàn chéngjì, yǐwéi zhèyàng jiù méi wèntí, zhè shì yǎn ěr dào líng.

   He doesn't look at his grades and thinks that means there is no problem; that is burying his head in the sand.

1. 
   Speaker A:

   你的考试成绩出来了吗？

   Nǐ de kǎoshì chéngjì chūlai le ma?

   Are your exam results out?

2. 
   Speaker B:

   出来了，可是我不想看。

   Chūlai le, kěshì wǒ bù xiǎng kàn.

   They're out, but I don't want to look.

3. 
   Speaker A:

   不看成绩也不会变好。

   Bú kàn chéngjì yě bú huì biàn hǎo.

   Not looking won't make the results any better.

4. 
   Speaker B:

   你说得对，这是掩耳盗铃。

   Nǐ shuō de duì, zhè shì yǎn ěr dào líng.

   You're right; that would be deceiving myself.

1. 1.What does 掩耳盗铃 mean?

   ATo deceive oneselfBTo steal a bellCTo have bad hearing
2. 2.Which sentence uses 掩耳盗铃 correctly?

   A不看问题就是掩耳盗铃。B这个铃很掩耳盗铃。C我掩耳盗铃地吃饭。
3. 3.Which word fits best? 问题就在那里，不看它是____。 (The problem is right there; not looking at it is deceiving yourself.)

   A掩耳盗铃B守株待兔C完璧归赵

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Related idioms

• 一举两得yì jǔ liǎng détwo birds with one stoneHSK 7–9
• 一如既往yì rú jì wǎng(idiom) just as in the past; as before; continuing as alwaysHSK 7–9
• 一目了然yí mù liǎo ránobvious at a glance (idiom)HSK 7–9
• 不可思议bù kě sī yìinconceivable; unimaginable; unfathomableHSK 7–9
• 不知不觉bù zhī bù jué(idiom) unconsciously; unwittinglyHSK 7–9
• 不知所措bù zhī suǒ cuònot knowing what to doHSK 7–9

Browse every entry in the Chinese idioms dictionary.