指鹿为马 (zhǐ lù wéi mǎ)

Words Meaning Recording

cuàn duó

篡夺

to usurp

dà chén

大臣

minister

fǎn duì

反对

to oppose

mínɡ bái

明白

to understand

jìnɡ xiàn

敬献

to present with respect

bì xià

陛下

Your Majesty

jiū jìnɡ

究竟

on earth, after all

tǎo hǎo

讨好

to suck up to

ɡěnɡ zhí

耿直

honest and frank

秦二世时,丞相赵高独揽大权,一心想篡夺皇位。他担心大臣们反对,想了个办法试探大家。一天,他牵了一头鹿来上早朝。大臣们觉得奇怪,不明白赵高要干什么。赵高指着鹿对秦二世说:“臣有一匹千里马特敬献给陛下!” “丞相错了!这明明是鹿!怎么说是马?”“众位大臣说说这究竟是马还是鹿?”多数人怕赵高迫害,都不说话。有些人为了讨好赵高,睁着眼睛瞎说:“是马”。耿直的大臣也不含糊说:“是鹿!”后来,这些耿直的大臣都受到了赵高的迫害。


Chenyu 指鹿为马 means to point to a deer, but call it a horse -- deliberately mislead someone by talking white to black.

e.g.

mínɡmínɡ shì dìdi zuòcuòle, dàn suóyǒurén dōu zhǐlùwéimǎ shuō wǒ zuòcuòle.

明明 是 弟弟 做错了,但 所有人 都 指鹿为马 说 我 做错了。

Apparently my younger brother did it wrong, but all people deliberately said it was me.

zhèɡe iPhone shì jiǎde, dàn shòuhuòyuán què zhǐlùwéimǎ.

这个 iPhone 是 假的,但 售货员 却 指鹿为马。

This iPhone is a fake one, but the seller wanted to talk white to black.

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