Chinese Wisdom Stories · Volume 1 · Story guide

疑邻盗斧Suspecting the Neighbor

yí lín dào fǔ

HSK4-寓言

A man loses his axe and becomes certain the neighbor's son stole it — every look, every step, every word seems to prove it. Then he finds the axe at home.

Where this story comes from

《列子·说符》

Liezi, chapter “Shuo Fu”

The story

一个人丢了斧头,越看邻居家的儿子越像偷斧的人:走路像,表情像,说话也像。后来他在自己家里找到了斧头——再看邻居的儿子,就哪里都不像了。偏见是怎么改变一个人看到的事实的,这篇故事讲得最直接。

What the idiom means

疑邻盗斧(yí lín dào fǔ)指没有根据就怀疑别人;比喻成见影响判断,使人把正常的言行看成可疑的证据。

To suspect a neighbor of stealing an axe without evidence — prejudice shapes what you see.

How to use it

别疑邻盗斧,先弄清楚事情再说。

bié yí lín dào fǔ , xiān nòng qīng chǔ shì qíng zài shuō 。

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Part of the Chinese Wisdom Stories series