Shìchǎng hùnluàn de shíhou, yǒurén xiǎng húnshuǐ-mōyú.
When the market is in chaos, some people try to fish in muddy waters.
Tips
culture
One of the 三十六计 (Thirty-Six Stratagems), strategy #20: 混水摸鱼 - muddy the waters so your target can't see clearly, then grab your prize. The phrase is equally at home in war theory and in condemning workplace opportunists.
usage
Written both 浑水摸鱼 and 混水摸鱼 - both are accepted; 浑 is more common in modern dictionaries. Almost always negative, unless describing one's own cleverness self-deprecatingly.
