人心难测 rén xīn nán cè Unpredictable Human Hearts

Explanation

指的是人的心思难以捉摸，难以预测。

It means that people's minds are difficult to fathom or predict.

Origin Story

话说唐朝时期，有一个非常精明的商人，名叫李员外。他经商多年，积累了丰厚的财富，但在商场上也经历过无数的尔虞我诈。有一次，李员外准备做一笔大生意，他需要和一位来自西域的商人合作。这位西域商人名叫阿布杜拉，他为人神秘，言语谨慎，让人难以捉摸。李员外对阿布杜拉的为人感到十分困惑，他不知道阿布杜拉是否可靠，内心充满了不安。于是，他决定派人去调查阿布杜拉的背景，希望能够了解到阿布杜拉的真实面目。然而，调查结果却让他更加困惑，阿布杜拉的背景十分复杂，让人难以看清。最终，李员外决定冒险与阿布杜拉合作，结果这笔生意让他赚得盆满钵满。但李员外也认识到，人心难测，在商场上，他必须更加谨慎小心，才能保护好自己的利益。从此以后，李员外对待每一个生意伙伴都更加谨慎，他不会轻易相信别人，更不会轻易被别人迷惑。在这个故事中，李员外展现了他作为一名优秀商人的智慧和谨慎。他并没有被阿布杜拉的神秘外表迷惑，而是通过自己的努力，最终取得了成功。这个故事也告诉我们，在生活中，我们也要时刻保持警惕，不要轻易相信别人，因为人心难测。

huà shuō táng cháo shí qī, yǒu yīgè fēicháng jīng míng de shāng rén, míng jiào lǐ yuán wài. tā jīng shāng duō nián, jī lěi le fēng hòu de cáifù, dàn zài shāng chǎng shàng yě jīng lì guò wú shù de ěr yú zhà. yǒu yī cì, lǐ yuán wài zhǔn bèi zuò yī bǐ dà shēng yì, tā xū yào hé yī wèi lái zì xī yù de shāng rén hé zuò. zhè wèi xī yù shāng rén míng jiào ā bù dù lā, tā wéi rén shén mì, yán yǔ jǐn shèn, ràng rén nán yǐ zhuō mó. lǐ yuán wài duì ā bù dù lā de wéi rén gǎn dào shí fēn kùn huò, tā bù zhī dào ā bù dù lā shì fǒu kě kào, nèi xīn chōng mǎn le bù ān. yú shì, tā jué dìng pài rén qù diào chá ā bù dù lā de bèi jǐng, xī wàng néng gòu liǎo jiě dào ā bù dù lā de zhēn shí miàn mù. rán ér, diào chá jié guǒ què ràng tā gèng jiā kùn huò, ā bù dù lā de bèi jǐng shí fēn fù zá, ràng rén nán yǐ kàn qīng. zuì zhōng, lǐ yuán wài jué dìng mào xiǎn yǔ ā bù dù lā hé zuò, jié guǒ zhè bǐ shēng yì ràng tā zhuàn de pén mǎn bō mǎn. dàn lǐ yuán wài yě rèn shí dào, rén xīn nán cè, zài shāng chǎng shàng, tā bì xū gèng jiā jǐn shèn xiǎo xīn, cái néng bǎo hù hǎo zì jǐ de lì yì. cóng cǐ yǐ hòu, lǐ yuán wài duì dài měi yīgè shēng yì huǒ bàn dōu gèng jiā jǐn shèn, tā bù huì qīng yì xiāngxìn bié rén, gèng bù huì qīng yì bèi bié rén mó huò. zài zhège gù shì zhōng, lǐ yuán wài zhǎn xiàn le tā zuò wéi yī míng yōu xiù shāng rén de zhì huì hé jǐn shèn. tā bìng méi yǒu bèi ā bù dù lā de shén mì wài miàn mó huò, ér shì tōng guò zì jǐ de nǔ lì, zuì zhōng qǔ dé le chéng gōng. zhège gù shì yě gào sù wǒ men, zài shēng huó zhōng, wǒ men yě yào shí kè bǎo chí jǐng tì, bù yào qīng yì xiāngxìn bié rén, yīn wèi rén xīn nán cè.

In the Tang Dynasty, there was a shrewd merchant named Li. After years in business, he had accumulated great wealth, but he had also experienced countless deceitful schemes. Once, Li was planning a big deal; he needed to cooperate with a merchant from the Western Regions named Abdullah. Abdullah was mysterious and cautious in his words, making him unpredictable. Li was very confused about Abdullah's character; he didn't know if Abdullah was reliable and felt very uneasy. So, he decided to send someone to investigate Abdullah's background. However, the investigation results made him even more perplexed. Abdullah's background was extremely complicated. Eventually, Li decided to risk cooperating with Abdullah, resulting in a huge profit. But Li also realized that people are unpredictable, and he must be more cautious in business to protect his own interests. From then on, Li was more careful with every business partner, never easily trusting others or being deceived. In this story, Li demonstrated his intelligence and prudence as a successful merchant, avoiding being fooled by Abdullah's mysterious appearance and achieving success. This story also tells us that we should be always vigilant in life and not easily trust others, because people are unpredictable.

Usage

多用于形容人的心思难以捉摸。

duō yòng yú xíngróng rén de xīn sī nán yǐ zhuō mō

It is often used to describe the unpredictable nature of human minds.

Examples

• 人心难测，我们还是小心为妙。

  rén xīn nán cè, wǒ men hái shì xiǎo xīn wéi miào

  It's better to be cautious, as people are unpredictable.

• 人心难测，防人之心不可无。

  rén xīn nán cè, fáng rén zhī xīn bù kě wú

  You must always be on your guard.

• 人心难测，不要轻易相信别人。

  rén xīn nán cè, bù yào qīng yì xiāngxìn bié rén

  Don't believe others easily because people's minds are hard to understand.

Related Idioms

• 阴险狡诈

• 虚情假意

• 扑朔迷离

Opposite Idioms

• 一目了然

• 显而易见