弄假成真 nòng jiǎ chéng zhēn Fake becomes real

Explanation

指本来是假装的，结果却弄成了真的。

Refers to something that was originally pretended, but ultimately became real.

Origin Story

话说东汉末年，孙权为了骗取刘备的信任，周瑜献计让孙尚香假意嫁给刘备。这本是一场政治阴谋，可孙尚香却对刘备一见倾心，真心实意地爱上了他。刘备也对这位美丽贤惠的夫人动了真情，二人琴瑟和鸣，恩爱有加。周瑜的计划就这样被这对甜蜜的夫妻给弄巧成拙了，弄假成真，他也只能无奈地接受现实。原本为了达到目的不择手段的计策，最终却成就了一段佳话，这不得不让人感叹世事难料。

huà shuō dōnghàn mònián, sūn quán wèile piànqǔ liú bèi de xìnrèn, zhōu yú xiànjì ràng sūn shàngxiāng jiǎyì jià gěi liú bèi. zhè běn shì yī chǎng zhèngzhì yīnmóu, kě sūn shàngxiāng què duì liú bèi yī jiàn qīngxīn, zhēnxīn shíyì de ài shàng le tā. liú bèi yě duì zhè wèi měilì xiánhuì de fū rén dòng le zhēnqíng, èr rén qín sè hé míng, ēn'ài yǒu jiā. zhōu yú de jìhuà jiù zhèyàng bèi zhè duì tiánmì de fūqī gěi nòng qiǎo chéng zhuō le, nòng jiǎ chéng zhēn, tā yě zhǐ néng wú nài de jiēshòu xiànshí. yuánběn wèile dàodá mùdì bù zé shǒuduàn de jìcè, zuìzhōng què chéngjiù le yī duàn jiāhuà, zhè bù dé bù ràng rén gǎntán shìshì nányào.

In the late Eastern Han Dynasty, to gain Liu Bei's trust, Zhou Yu devised a plan for Sun Shangxiang to pretend to marry Liu Bei. This was originally a political conspiracy, but Sun Shangxiang fell in love with Liu Bei at first sight and sincerely loved him. Liu Bei also developed genuine feelings for his beautiful and virtuous wife. The couple lived happily together, in harmony. Zhou Yu's plan was thus thwarted by this sweet couple; what was intended as a fake, became real, and he could only reluctantly accept reality. What was originally intended as a ruthless means to an end, ultimately created a wonderful love story. This makes one marvel at the unpredictability of life.

Usage

通常用来形容一件事情本来是假的，但是经过一番努力或者意外的因素，最终却变成了真的。

tōngcháng yòng lái xíngróng yī jiàn shìqíng běnlái shì jiǎ de, dànshì jīngguò yīfān nǔlì huò yìwài de yīnsù, zuìzhōng què biàn chéng le zhēn de

It is usually used to describe something that was originally false, but through effort or unexpected factors, ultimately became true.

Examples

• 他本来是想开玩笑的，没想到竟然弄假成真了。

  tā běnlái shì xiǎng kāi wánxiào de, méi xiǎngdào jìngrán nòng jiǎ chéng zhēn le

  He originally intended to joke, but unexpectedly it became true.

• 演员们假戏真做，表演得十分投入。

  yǎnyuánmen jiǎ xì zhēn zuò, biǎoyǎn de shífēn tòurù

  The actors acted so convincingly that they were deeply immersed in their roles.

Related Idioms

• 假戏真做

• 虚情假意

Opposite Idioms

• 弄巧成拙

• 适得其反