指鹿为马

指鹿為馬

zhǐlù-wéimǎ

idiom

Meanings

1 to point at a deer and call it a horse
2 to deliberately misrepresent the truth

Characters

Examples

HSK 3

在证据面前，他还敢指鹿为马吗？

Zài zhèngjù miànqián, tā hái gǎn zhǐlù-wéimǎ ma?

With the evidence in front of him, does he still dare distort the truth?

HSK 7-9

他竟然指鹿为马，颠倒是非。

Tā jìngrán zhǐlù-wéimǎ, diāndǎo shìfēi.

He actually calls a deer a horse, turning right and wrong upside down.

Tips

history

From 《史记·秦始皇本纪》: the Qin eunuch Zhao Gao (赵高) presented a deer to the Second Emperor and called it a horse. Officials who agreed with him were spared; those who honestly called it a deer were later eliminated - a test of political loyalty.

Stroke Order

指 zhǐ

鹿 lù

为 wéi

马 mǎ