偷偷摸摸 tōu tōu mō mō secretly

Explanation

形容瞒着别人做事，不敢让别人知道。

describes someone doing something secretly, without others knowing.

Origin Story

大观园里，宝玉丢失了一块玉，王夫人下令搜查。丫鬟们个个提心吊胆，生怕被发现。紫鹃偷偷摸摸地把玉藏了起来，只为了保护宝玉。她深知，如果玉被发现，宝玉将会面临怎样的责罚。然而，纸包不住火，最终事情还是败露了，紫鹃为了保护宝玉，不惜承担一切后果。她知道，她的行为可能让自己面临危险，但她还是义无反顾地做了。此事过后，宝玉对紫鹃更加依赖和感激。

dà guān yuán lǐ, bǎo yù diū shī le yī kuài yù, wáng fū rén xià lìng sōu chá.yā huán men gè gè tí xīn diào dǎn, shēng pà bèi fā xiàn. zǐ juān tōu tōu mō mō de bǎ yù cáng le qǐ lái, zhǐ wèi le bǎo hù bǎo yù. tā shēn zhī, rú guǒ yù bèi fā xiàn, bǎo yù jiāng huì miàn lín zěnyàng de zé fá. rán ér, zhǐ bāo bù zhù huǒ, zuì zhōng shì qíng hái shì bài lù le, zǐ juān wèi le bǎo hù bǎo yù, bù xī chēng dān yī qiè hòu guǒ. tā zhī dào, tā de xíng wéi kě néng ràng zì jǐ miàn lín wēi xiǎn, dàn tā hái shì yì wú yù gù de zuò le. cǐ shì guò hòu, bǎo yù duì zǐ juān gèng jiā yī kài hé gǎnjī

In the Grand Garden, a valuable jade was lost, and Lady Wang ordered a search. The maids were all anxious, afraid of being discovered. Ziqian secretly hid the jade to protect Baoyu. She knew that if the jade was found, Baoyu would face severe punishment. However, eventually the truth came out. To protect Baoyu, Ziqan took responsibility for everything. She knew her actions might endanger her, but she did it regardless. After this incident, Baoyu became even more reliant on and grateful to Ziqan.

Usage

多用于描写秘密进行的动作或行为

duō yòng yú miáoxiě mìmì jìnxíng de dòngzuò huò xíngwéi

mainly used to describe secret actions or behaviors

Examples

• 他们偷偷摸摸地进去了。

  tāmen tōutōumōumō de jìngù le

  They went in secretly.

• 他偷偷摸摸地把钱藏了起来。

  tā tōutōumōumō de bǎ qián cáng le qǐlái

  He secretly hid the money.

Related Idioms

• 鬼鬼祟祟

• 偷偷地

Opposite Idioms

• 光明正大

• 坦坦荡荡