📖 Meaning
To collude with others in cheating or committing illegal and irregular acts. It describes people secretly cooperating to engage in fraud, corruption, or other underhanded wrongdoing.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom traces to Yuan dynasty playwright Bai Pu's zaju play 'Qiang Tou Ma Shang' (A Horse by the Wall), Act 3, in which a character accuses another of colluding with a child to deceive others and violate family discipline. The phrase was later echoed in Ming dynasty novels such as Fang Ruhao's 'Chan Zhen Yi Shi' (The Legend of Chan Zhen), where officials were said to collude in bribery and falsify reports to claim undeserved merit. Over time it came to describe any joint conspiracy to cheat or break the rules.
💡 Example Usage
他们两人通同作弊，私自篡改了账目。
The two of them colluded to secretly alter the accounts.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 通同作弊
- Pinyin: tōng tóng zuò bì
- Literal Translation: conspire together, do, fraud
- Category: Action
- Characters: 4