做贼心虚

做賊心虛

zuòzéi-xīnxū

idiom

Meanings

1 to have a guilty conscience like a thief
2 to betray oneself by nervousness after wrongdoing

Characters

to do; to act as

Examples

HSK 2

做贼心虚的人最怕别人多看两眼。

Zuòzéi-xīnxū de rén zuì pà biérén duō kàn liǎng yǎn.

People with something to hide are the most afraid of a second glance.

HSK 7-9

他一听到警车声就脸色发白，真是做贼心虚。

Tā yī tīngdào jǐngchē shēng jiù liǎnsè fā bái, zhēnshì zuòzéi-xīnxū.

The moment he heard the police siren his face went white - a classic guilty conscience.

HSK 7-9

你解释得这么急，反倒让人觉得你做贼心虚。

Nǐ jiěshì de zhème jí, fǎndào ràng rén juéde nǐ zuòzéi-xīnxū.

You're explaining yourself so frantically that it actually makes you look guilty.

Tips

history

Attested in the Song-dynasty Chan text 《联灯会要》: when the master hears that someone had peered into the abbot's quarters, he says 'the thief's heart is hollow (作贼人心虚).' The image - a thief giving himself away by his own nerves - has stuck ever since.

Stroke Order

做 zuò

贼 zéi

心 xīn

虚 xū