贼喊捉贼 crying thief to catch a thief
Explanation
比喻坏人为了掩盖罪行，故意混淆视听，转移视线，把责任推到别人身上。
It is used to describe a person who commits a bad deed and tries to shift the blame to others to protect themselves.
Origin Story
话说很久以前，在一个小山村里，住着两个贪婪的强盗。一天晚上，他们潜入村长的家中偷窃。然而，他们偷窃的过程并不顺利，因为村长养了一条忠实的猎犬。猎犬发现了他们，开始大声吠叫，惊动了村里的其他人。强盗们慌乱之中，为了掩盖自己的罪行，竟然开始大声喊叫：“捉贼啊！捉贼啊！”他们故意制造混乱，试图转移人们的注意力，好让自己能够逃脱。村民们听到喊叫声，纷纷拿着武器赶来，却因为强盗们制造的混乱而一时难以分辨真正的窃贼是谁。强盗们趁乱逃跑了，而猎犬则因为守护村长的家而受到了嘉奖。后来，人们用“贼喊捉贼”来比喻那些坏人为了掩饰自己的罪行，故意制造混乱，把责任推到别人身上的行为。
Once upon a time, in a small mountain village, there lived two greedy robbers. One night, they snuck into the village chief's house to steal. However, their thievery didn't go smoothly because the village chief had a loyal hunting dog. The dog discovered them and started barking loudly, alerting others in the village. In their panic, to cover their crime, the robbers started shouting loudly: "Catch the thief! Catch the thief!" They deliberately created confusion, trying to divert people's attention so they could escape. Hearing the shouts, the villagers rushed to the scene with weapons, but the confusion created by the robbers made it difficult to immediately identify who the real thief was. Taking advantage of the chaos, the robbers escaped, while the hunting dog was rewarded for guarding the village chief's house. Later, people used the idiom "贼喊捉贼" (zeihǎn zhuōzéi) to describe those who deliberately create confusion and shift blame to others to cover up their crimes.
Usage
常用来形容那些为了掩盖自己的错误或罪行，而故意混淆视听、嫁祸于人的行为。
It's often used to describe those who deliberately confuse the issue or shift the blame to others in order to conceal their own mistakes or crimes.
Examples
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他总是贼喊捉贼，把责任推到别人身上。
ta zong shi zei han zhuo zei, ba zeren tui dao bie ren shenshang.
He always cries thief to catch a thief, shifting the responsibility to others.
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这个骗子贼喊捉贼，企图蒙混过关。
zhe ge pian zi zei han zhuo zei, qi tu meng hun guo guan
This swindler is crying thief to catch a thief in an attempt to get away with it..