神出鬼没 Shén Chū Guǐ Mò Elusive

Explanation

这个成语用来形容事物或人的出现和消失都非常突然，令人难以捉摸。

This idiom is used to describe things or people whose appearance and disappearance are very sudden and unpredictable.

Origin Story

传说，古代有一个叫做张三的人，他生性狡猾，经常偷盗别人家的财物。他行事神出鬼没，令人防不胜防。一次，张三听说城里有一个富商家里收藏了大量的金银财宝，他便起了贪心，想要去偷。他事先观察了富商家的地形，发现富商家的后院有一条小路，可以直通富商家的卧室。张三决定趁着夜黑风高，从这条小路潜入富商家的卧室，偷走富商家的财物。 到了晚上，张三偷偷地来到富商家的后院，他轻手轻脚地沿着小路走到富商家的卧室门口，发现门并没有锁。张三心里窃喜，以为自己这次可以轻而易举地偷走富商家的财物。他轻轻地推开门，走进卧室，发现富商家的床上放着一个金光闪闪的宝箱。张三打开宝箱，里面装满了金银珠宝，他顿时欣喜若狂，正准备把宝箱搬走，突然，他听到有人在喊他的名字。张三吓了一跳，赶紧躲了起来，发现是富商家的管家，他正拿着灯笼在院子里四处巡逻。张三心想：坏了，被发现了！ 他连忙从窗户跳出去，消失在茫茫夜色之中。富商家的管家在院子里寻找了半天，也没有找到张三。他感到非常奇怪，心想：这小偷怎么会突然消失不见了呢？ 后来，张三又多次去富商家偷盗，每一次都神出鬼没，让人难以捉摸。每次都被富商家的管家发现，但张三总能凭借着自己敏捷的身手，躲过管家的追捕。富商家的管家非常气愤，却无可奈何，只能眼睁睁地看着张三一次又一次地得手。 这个故事说明了“神出鬼没”这个成语的意思，它用来形容那些行动迅速、难以捉摸的人，也用来比喻事物出现和消失都很突然，令人难以捉摸。

xī shí shí, zhāng sān jiào zuò de rén. tā shēng xìng jiǎo huá, jīng cháng tōu dào bié rén jiā de cái wù. tā xíng shì shén chū guǐ mò, lìng rén fáng bù shèng fáng. yī cì, zhāng sān tīng shuō chéng lǐ yǒu yī ge fù shāng jiā lǐ cóng shōu le dà liàng de jīn yín cái bǎo, tā biàn qǐ le tān xīn, xiǎng yào qù tōu. tā shì xiān guān chá le fù shāng jiā de dì xíng, fā xiàn fù shāng jiā de hòu yuàn yǒu yī tiáo xiǎo lù, kě yǐ zhí tōng fù shāng jiā de wò shì. zhāng sān jué dìng chèn zhe yè hēi fēng gāo, cóng zhè tiáo xiǎo lù qiǎn rù fù shāng jiā de wò shì, tōu zǒu fù shāng jiā de cái wù. dào le wǎn shàng, zhāng sān tōu tōu dì lái dào fù shāng jiā de hòu yuàn, tā qīng shǒu qīng jiǎo dì yán zhe xiǎo lù zǒu dào fù shāng jiā de wò shì mén kǒu, fā xiàn mén bìng méi yǒu suǒ. zhāng sān xīn lǐ qiè xǐ, yǐ wéi zì jǐ zhè cì kě yǐ qīng ér yì jǔ dì tōu zǒu fù shāng jiā de cái wù. tā qīng qīng dì tuī kāi mén, zǒu jìn wò shì, fā xiàn fù shāng jiā de chuáng shàng fàng zhe yī ge jīn guāng shǎn shǎn de bǎo xiāng. zhāng sān dǎ kāi bǎo xiāng, lǐ miàn zhuāng mǎn le jīn yín zhū bǎo, tā dùn shí xīn xǐ ruò kuáng, zhèng zhǔn bèi bǎ bǎo xiāng bān zǒu, tú rán, tā tīng dào yǒu rén zài hǎn tā de míng zi. zhāng sān xià le yī tiào, gǎn jǐn duǒ le qǐ lái, fā xiàn shì fù shāng jiā de guǎn jiā, tā zhèng ná zhe dēng lóng zài yuàn lǐ sì chù xún luó. zhāng sān xīn xiǎng: huài le, bèi fā xiàn le! tā lián máng cóng chuāng hù tiào chū qù, xiāo shī zài máng máng yè sè zhī zhōng. fù shāng jiā de guǎn jiā zài yuàn lǐ xún zhǎo le bàn tiān, yě méi yǒu zhǎo dào zhāng sān. tā gǎn dào fēi cháng qí guài, xīn xiǎng: zhè xiǎo tōu zěn me huì tú rán xiāo shī bú jiàn ne? hòu lái, zhāng sān yòu duō cì qù fù shāng jiā tōu dào, měi yī cì dōu shén chū guǐ mò, ràng rén nán yǐ zhuō mó. měi cì dōu bèi fù shāng jiā de guǎn jiā fā xiàn, dàn zhāng sān zǒng néng píng jiē zhe zì jǐ mǐn jié de shēn shǒu, duǒ guò guǎn jiā de zhuī bǔ. fù shāng jiā de guǎn jiā fēi cháng qì fèn, què wú kě nài hé, zhǐ néng yǎn zhēng zhēng dì kàn zhe zhāng sān yī cì yī cì dì dé shǒu. zhè ge gù shì shuō míng le “shén chū guǐ mò” zhè ge chéng yǔ de yì si, tā yòng lái xíng róng nà xiē xíng dòng xùn sù, nán yǐ zhuō mó de rén, yě yòng lái bǐ yù shì wù chū xiàn hé xiāo shī dōu hěn tú rán, lìng rén nán yǐ zhuō mó.

Legend has it that in ancient times there was a man named Zhang San, who was inherently cunning and often stole from other people's homes. He moved so stealthily and quickly that no one could stop him. One day, Zhang San heard that a wealthy merchant in the city had a large collection of gold and silver treasures in his home. He became greedy and wanted to steal them. He first observed the layout of the merchant's house and discovered that there was a small path in the merchant's backyard that led directly to the merchant's bedroom. Zhang San decided to take advantage of the darkness and sneak into the merchant's bedroom through this path to steal the merchant's possessions. At night, Zhang San sneaked into the merchant's backyard. He walked lightly along the path to the merchant's bedroom door and found that the door was not locked. Zhang San was overjoyed, thinking that he could easily steal the merchant's possessions this time. He pushed the door gently and went into the bedroom, where he found a golden treasure chest on the merchant's bed. Zhang San opened the chest and found it filled with gold and jewels. He was immediately ecstatic and was about to carry the chest away when he suddenly heard someone calling his name. Zhang San jumped in fright and quickly hid. He saw that it was the merchant's steward, who was patrolling the yard with a lantern. Zhang San thought: “Damn, I've been caught!” He quickly jumped out the window and disappeared into the darkness. The merchant's steward searched the yard for a long time, but he couldn't find Zhang San. He was very confused and thought: “How could this thief suddenly disappear?” Later, Zhang San went to the merchant's house to steal many more times. Each time, he moved stealthily and quickly, making it impossible for anyone to catch him. Each time, he was discovered by the merchant's steward, but Zhang San was always able to escape the steward's pursuit with his quick reflexes and agility. The merchant's steward was very angry, but he was helpless and could only watch as Zhang San succeeded again and again. This story explains the meaning of the idiom “Shén chū guǐ mò.” It is used to describe people who move quickly and are difficult to catch, and also to describe things that appear and disappear very suddenly, making them difficult to understand.

Usage

这个成语一般用于形容人的行为，也可以用来形容事物的变化，比喻做事变化无常，难以捉摸。

zhè ge chéng yǔ yī bān yòng yú xíng róng rén de xíng wéi, yě kě yǐ yòng lái xíng róng shì wù de biàn huà, bǐ yù zuò shì biàn huà wú cháng, nán yǐ zhuō mó.

This idiom is generally used to describe people's actions, but it can also be used to describe changes in things, for example, to describe how someone is unpredictable and elusive.

Examples

• 他的行踪神出鬼没，让人难以捉摸。

  tā de xíng zōng shén chū guǐ mò, ràng rén nán yǐ zhuō mó.

  His whereabouts are elusive, making him hard to track.

• 特种部队神出鬼没，敌军防不胜防。

  tè zhǒng bù duì shén chū guǐ mò, dí jūn fáng bù shèng fáng.

  Special forces are elusive, making the enemy unprepared.

• 这件艺术品的设计神出鬼没，充满了创意。

  zhè jiàn yì shù pǐn de shè jì shén chū guǐ mò, chōng mǎn le chuàng yì.

  The design of this artwork is elusive, full of creativity.

Related Idioms

• 出没无常

• 神妙莫测

• 飘忽不定

• 无影无踪

Opposite Idioms

• 光明正大

• 公开透明