📖 Meaning
This idiom refers to harboring depraved or improper thoughts while hiding one's misconduct. It describes a person whose inner mind is corrupt and whose outward behavior is deceitful. The phrase condemns both the evil intent and the deliberate concealment of wrongful actions.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom appears in classical Chinese moralistic literature as a descriptive compound combining two vices: licentious thoughts and concealed wrongdoing. While no single canonical origin story is widely cited, the phrase follows the classical four-character structure common in Confucian didactic texts that warn against hypocrisy and moral corruption. It reflects traditional Chinese ethical thought that condemns not only evil deeds but also the scheming mind that conceals them.
💡 Example Usage
此人淫心匿行，终被众人识破其伪善面目。
This person harbored wicked thoughts and concealed misconduct, and was eventually exposed by everyone for his hypocrisy.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 淫心匿行
- Pinyin: yín xīn nì xíng
- Literal Translation: wicked heart, concealed conduct
- Category: Morality
- Characters: 4