🔔 掩耳盗铃 yǎn ěr dào líng – Fooling Yourself to Fool Others

🔍 What It Means

掩耳盗铃 (yǎn ěr dào líng) literally means “cover one’s ears while stealing a bell.”

Word-for-word:

掩 (yǎn) – to cover

耳 (ěr) – ears

盗 (dào) – to steal

铃 (líng) – bell

This idiom describes someone who tries to cover up an obvious fact by deceiving themselves — thinking others won’t notice.

In the end, it just makes them look foolish.

In English, it’s like saying:

🙈 “Burying your head in the sand”

🎭 “Self-deception”

🤡 “Fooling yourself to fool others”

🏺 Where It Comes From

This idiom comes from an old Chinese story.

A man wanted to steal a bell from another person’s house.

But as soon as he touched it — clang! — it made a loud noise.

Afraid of being discovered, he had an idea:

“If I can’t hear it, others won’t either.”

So he covered his own ears and took the bell.

But of course, everyone else heard the sound clearly.

That became a metaphor:

Trying to hide the truth from others often just shows self-deception.

💬 How to Use It

Use this idiom when someone ignores a clear problem and pretends it doesn’t exist — even though the truth is obvious.

❌ It’s a negative expression — often used to criticize self-deception

✅ Commonly used when someone is clearly avoiding reality, thinking it helps

🎯 Real Examples

1. 他以为删了聊天记录，别人就不会知道发生了什么，简直是掩耳盗铃。

Tā yǐwéi shān le liáotiān jìlù, biérén jiù bú huì zhīdào fāshēng le shénme, jiǎnzhí shì yǎn ěr dào líng.

👉🏻 He thought that deleting the chat would keep others from knowing what happened — but that’s just fooling himself.

2. 有人明知道问题已经暴露，还装作一切正常，真是掩耳盗铃。

Yǒurén míng zhīdào wèntí yǐjīng bàolù, hái zhuāngzuò yíqiè zhèngcháng, zhēn shì yǎn ěr dào líng.

👉🏻 Some people clearly know the problem is exposed, but still pretend everything is fine — that’s classic self-deception.

⚠️ Common Mistakes (Watch Out!)

❌ Mistake: Thinking it means “pretending not to care”

✅ Correct: It describes avoiding reality by lying to oneself

❌ Mistake: Using it in a neutral or polite tone

✅ Correct: It always carries a mocking or critical meaning

💡 Memory Tip

Picture someone trying to steal a large bell.

The moment it’s touched — CLANG! — the sound is loud and clear.

Panicking, the thief covers his ears.

He believes, “If I can’t hear it, then no one else can either.”

But the sound continues — for everyone else.

That’s 掩耳盗铃 — covering the ears doesn’t cover the truth.

It only shows how foolish the act really is.

🧩 Interactive Practice

Translate this sentence into English:

这种做法只是掩耳盗铃，没有用。

Answer:

That approach is just deceiving oneself — it doesn’t work.

🌟 Final Thoughts

掩耳盗铃 is a reminder that hiding from the truth doesn’t protect anyone — it only exposes the problem more clearly.

Avoiding the truth may feel easier for a moment.

But clarity and honesty are what lead to real solutions.

👉 Stay tuned for the next idiom in this series!