📖 Meaning
Describes someone who appears slow-witted or simple on the outside while secretly harboring cunning and deceitful intentions. It portrays a person using a facade of stupidity to mask calculating, treacherous behavior.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from Chapter 86 of the Ming Dynasty novel 'Jin Ping Mei Cihua' (金瓶梅词话) by Lanling Xiaoxiao Sheng (兰陵笑笑生). In the scene, a character rebukes another for pretending to be foolish while covertly scheming, declaring that such sweet-talking tricks will not work on them. The phrase became a vivid description of people who disguise their true shrewdness beneath an outwardly dull demeanor.
💡 Example Usage
他表面上憨厚老实，实则呆里撒奸，暗中算计他人。
He appears honest and simple on the surface, but is actually cunning beneath his foolish facade, secretly scheming against others.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 呆里撒奸
- Pinyin: dāi lǐ sā jiān
- Literal Translation: foolish, inside, display, cunning
- Category: Attitude
- Characters: 4