Chinese Wisdom Stories · Volume 1 · Story guide

三人成虎Three People Make a Tiger

sān rén chéng hǔ

HSK4+成语故事

A minister about to leave the capital asks the king a strange question about tigers in a market — and receives a promise that may not survive three repetitions.

Where this story comes from

《战国策·魏策二》

Stratagems of the Warring States, Wei 2

The story

庞葱要陪太子去邯郸,临走前他问魏王:如果一个人说市场上有老虎,您信吗?两个人说呢?三个人说呢?魏王知道市场上不会有老虎,却答应不了自己一定不信。他离开以后,说他不好的话传了三次,魏王真的动摇了。重复是怎样让一句谎话慢慢变得可信的,是这篇故事的核心。

What the idiom means

三人成虎(sān rén chéng hǔ)指一件事被反复传言,就容易被当成事实;比喻谣言重复多了,足以混淆真假。

When a rumor is repeated enough, people start believing it — three people claiming a tiger is enough to make it sound true.

How to use it

网上传的未必是真的,三人成虎,还是要看官方信息。

wǎng shàng chuán de wèi bì dōu shì zhēn de , sān rén chéng hǔ , hái shì yào kàn guān fāng xìn xī 。

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Part of the Chinese Wisdom Stories series