欲盖弥彰

欲蓋彌彰

yùgài-mízhāng

idiom

Meanings

1 the more you try to hide it, the more it shows
2 a cover-up that backfires
3 attempting to conceal only makes it more obvious

Characters

to cover, conceal

more, all the more

to show, make evident

Examples

HSK 7-9

他越解释越可疑，真是欲盖弥彰。

Tā yuè jiěshì yuè kěyí, zhēnshì yùgàimízhāng.

The more he explained, the more suspicious it looked - a classic case of a cover-up making things worse.

HSK 7-9

删帖只会让这件事欲盖弥彰。

Shān tiě zhǐ huì ràng zhè jiàn shì yùgàimízhāng.

Deleting the posts will only draw more attention to the matter.

Tips

history

From 《左传·昭公三十一年》: 或欲盖而名章 ('some try to conceal, yet their name becomes famous'). Originally moral commentary: you can't hide an act of injustice - trying to will only expose it more.

Stroke Order

欲 yù

盖 gài

弥 mí

彰 zhāng