掩耳盗铃

Traditional: 掩耳盜鈴

yǎn ěr dào líng

Dictionary entry

lit. to cover one's ears whilst stealing a bell

What does 掩耳盗铃 mean?

掩耳盗铃 (yǎn ěr dào líng) has the following dictionary meaning.

1lit. to cover one's ears whilst stealing a bell

2to deceive oneself

3to bury one's head in the sand (idiom)

Character breakdown

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掩yǎnto cover up; to conceal · to close (a door, book etc)耳ěrear · handle (archaeology)盗dàoto steal · to rob 铃líng(small) bell · CL:隻|只[zhi1]

Reviewed examples

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How to pronounce 掩耳盗铃

掩耳盗铃

yǎn ěr dào líng

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Base dictionary data: CC-CEDICT · CC BY-SA 4.0.