口是心非 kǒu shì xīn fēi hypocrisy

Explanation

指嘴上说一套，心里想一套，言行不一。

It means saying one thing and thinking another, with inconsistent words and actions.

Origin Story

从前，有个叫阿牛的小伙子，他暗恋村里一位姑娘，名叫小莲。阿牛性格内向，平时很少和小莲说话，但他心里却十分爱慕小莲。有一天，小莲家来了位远方表哥，表哥风度翩翩，让小莲对他另眼相看。阿牛看到后，心里很不是滋味，可表面上他装作若无其事，还主动帮小莲的表哥提东西。村里人都说阿牛是个老实巴交的好小伙子，殊不知阿牛心里正想着法子要如何得到小莲的青睐。后来，小莲表哥走了，阿牛才敢跟小莲表白。小莲得知后，十分感动，觉得阿牛是个诚实善良的人。而阿牛以前口是心非的行为，也让小莲更加了解阿牛的性格，更加珍惜这段感情。

cóng qián, yǒu gè jiào ā niú de xiǎohuǒzi, tā ànliàn cūn lǐ yī wèi gūniang, míng jiào xiǎo lián. ā niú xìnggé nèixiàng, píngshí hěn shǎo hé xiǎo lián shuōhuà, dàn tā xīnlǐ què shífēn ài mù xiǎo lián. yǒuyītiān, xiǎo lián jiā lái le wèi yuǎnfāng biǎogē, biǎogē fēngdù piānpian, ràng xiǎo lián duì tā lìng yǎn xiāngkàn. ā niú kàndào hòu, xīnlǐ hěn bùshì zīwèi, kě biǎomiànshàng tā zhuāng zuò ruò wú qí shì, hái zhǔdòng bāng xiǎo lián de biǎogē tí dōngxi. cūn lǐ rén dōu shuō ā niú shì gè lǎoshí bājiāo de hǎo xiǎohuǒzi, shū bù zhī ā niú xīnlǐ zhèng xiǎngzhe fǎzi yào rúhé dédào xiǎo lián de qīnglài. hòulái, xiǎo lián biǎogē zǒu le, ā niú cái gǎn gēn xiǎo lián biǎobái. xiǎo lián dézhī hòu, shífēn gǎndòng, juéde ā niú shì gè chéngshí shànliáng de rén. ér ā niú yǐqián kǒushìxīnfēi de xíngwéi, yě ràng xiǎo lián gèngjiā liǎojiě ā niú de xìnggé, gèngjiā zhēnxī zhè duàn gǎnqíng.

Once upon a time, there was a young man named An Niu who secretly loved a girl named Xiao Lian. An Niu was shy and rarely talked to Xiao Lian, but in his heart, he loved her dearly. One day, a distant cousin came to visit Xiao Lian. The cousin was handsome and charming, and Xiao Lian noticed him. An Niu felt uncomfortable, but pretended nothing was wrong, even offering to carry things for Xiao Lian's cousin. The villagers all said An Niu was a honest and good young man, but unbeknownst to them, An Niu was secretly thinking of ways to gain Xiao Lian's favor. Later, after Xiao Lian's cousin left, An Niu dared to confess his love to Xiao Lian. Xiao Lian was very moved, feeling that An Niu was an honest and kind person. An Niu's previous hypocritical behavior made Xiao Lian understand his personality better and cherish this relationship even more.

Usage

形容说话与内心想法不一致，言行不一。

xiáoróng shuōhuà yǔ nèixīn xiǎngfǎ bù yīzhì, yánxíng bùyī。

Describes the inconsistency between words and thoughts, insincerity.

Examples

• 他表面上答应了，实际上却阳奉阴违，真是口是心非。

  tā biǎomiànshàng dāying le, shíjìshàng què yángfèngyīnwéi, zhēnshi kǒushìxīnfēi。

  He outwardly agreed but secretly acted differently; he was truly hypocritical.

• 她嘴上说着不在意，心里却难受得很，真是口是心非。

  tā zuǐshàng shuōzhe bù zàiyì, xīnlǐ què nán shòu de hěn, zhēnshi kǒushìxīnfēi。

  She said she didn't care, but in her heart she was very sad; she was being insincere.

• 别看他笑眯眯的，其实心里早就想好了对策，典型的口是心非。

  bié kàn tā xiàomī mī de, qíshí xīnlǐ zǎo jiù xiǎng hǎo le duìcè, diǎnxíng de kǒushìxīnfēi。

  Don't look at his smiling face; he actually had a plan in mind a long time ago - a typical case of hypocrisy.

Related Idioms

• 虚伪

• 伪善

• 欺骗

Opposite Idioms

• 言行一致

• 表里如一

• 真心实意