心术不正 xīn shù bù zhèng Unprincipled

Explanation

指为人处世心术不正，不光明磊落，不忠厚。

Refers to someone whose actions and thoughts are not sincere and honest, but deceitful and dishonest.

Origin Story

从前，在一个偏僻的小村庄里，住着一位名叫阿强的农夫。阿强为人奸诈，经常欺骗他人，以谋取私利。他表面上与村民相处融洽，私底下却总在暗地里算计别人。村里老人常说他心术不正。一次，村里举行丰收庆典，阿强为了得到更多的好处，故意损坏了他人的庄稼，嫁祸于人，从中渔利。他的所作所为最终被揭穿，村民们都对他感到厌恶，纷纷远离他。阿强孤身一人，悔恨不已，明白自己心术不正最终害人害己。

cóng qián, zài yīgè piānpì de xiǎo cūnzhuāng lǐ, zhù zhe yī wèi míng jiào ā qiáng de nóng fū. ā qiáng wéi rén jiānzhà, chángcháng qīpiàn tā rén, yǐ móuqǔ sīlì. tā biǎomiàn shàng yǔ cūn mín xiāngchǔ róngqià, sīxià diǎn què zǒng zài àn dì lǐ suànjì bié rén. cūn lǐ lǎorén cháng shuō tā xīn shù bù zhèng. yī cì, cūn lǐ jǔxíng fēngshōu qìngdiǎn, ā qiáng wèile dédào gèng duō de hǎochù, gùyì sǔnhuài le tā rén de zhuāngjia, jiàhuò yú rén, cóng zhōng yúlì. tā de suǒ zuò suǒ wéi zuì zhōng bèi jiēchuān, cūn mín men dōu duì tā gǎndào yàn'è, fēn fēn yuǎnlí tā. ā qiáng gūshēn yī rén, huǐhèn bù yǐ, míngbái zìjǐ xīn shù bù zhèng zuì zhōng hài rén hài jǐ.

Once upon a time, in a remote village, there lived a farmer named Ah Qiang. Ah Qiang was cunning and often cheated others to gain personal profit. On the surface, he got along well with the villagers, but secretly, he was always scheming against others. The village elders often said that he had a bad heart. Once, the village held a harvest festival. To gain more benefits, Ah Qiang deliberately damaged the crops of others and blamed others, benefiting from it. His actions were eventually uncovered, and the villagers were disgusted and shunned him. Ah Qiang was alone and regretted his actions, understanding that his bad heart ultimately harmed others and himself.

Usage

形容一个人品行不端，心怀不轨。

xiáong shù yīgè rén pǐnxíng bù duān, xīn huái bù guǐ.

Describes a person with bad character and evil intentions.

Examples

• 他心术不正，最终害人害己。

  tā xīn shù bù zhèng, zuì zhōng hài rén hài jǐ.

  He is unscrupulous and ultimately harms himself and others.

• 此人心术不正，不可与之深交。

  cǐ rén xīn shù bù zhèng, bù kě yǔ zhī shēn jiāo.

  This person is unscrupulous and should not be befriended.

Related Idioms

• 居心叵测

• 心怀鬼胎

Opposite Idioms

• 心地善良

• 光明磊落