📖 Meaning
A metaphor for self-deception. It describes someone who fools themselves into believing that if they cannot perceive something, others cannot either. The phrase comes from the story of a thief who covered his own ears while stealing a bell, thinking that would prevent anyone from hearing it.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom appears in the Qing dynasty dramatic work 'Cang Ying Ji' (苍鹰击) by Shang Shi Zi (伤时子). In the scene 'Qiang Fan' (戕藩), the author lambastes a traitor who deceives the whole world while willingly selling out the nation to seize imperial power, asking rhetorically what there is even to discuss. The phrase shares the same classical source story as the more common variant '掩耳盗铃,' which tells of a foolish thief who plugged his own ears before stealing a large bell, believing that if he could not hear the bell ring, no one else could either.
💡 Example Usage
他以为删掉记录就能掩盖真相，简直是盗铃掩耳。
He thought deleting the records would cover up the truth—it was simply self-deception.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 盗铃掩耳
- Pinyin: dào líng yǎn ěr
- Literal Translation: steal, bell, cover, ear
- Category: Logic
- Characters: 4