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挑拨离间 (tiǎo bō lí jiàn) — to sow discord, to drive a wedge between people

Definition

A chengyu for deliberately stirring up quarrels and suspicion between people, usually for selfish gain. The intent is malicious — the speaker plants bad feelings, not a real grievance.

idiom
to sow discordto drive a wedge between people

Examples

  • 挑拨离间，。
    Tā zǒng zài tóng shì zhī jiān tiǎo bō lí jiàn, ràng dà jiā hù xiāng cāi yí.
    He always stirs up discord among colleagues, making everyone suspicious of each other.
  • ，挑拨离间。
    Yǒu xiē rén wéi le gè rén lì yì, gù yì zài tuán duì lǐ tiǎo bō lí jiàn.
    Some people deliberately stir up discord within the team for personal gain.
  • 挑拨离间。
    Xiǎo rén de tiǎo bō lí jiàn ràng hǎo péng you biàn chéng le dí rén.
    A petty person's sowing of discord turned good friends into enemies.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

挑拨stir up
挑tiāostir拨bōinstigate
联合Coordinate
离间drive apart
离líseparate间jiānalienate
联合Coordinate

挑拨 means to stir up, 离间 means to drive apart, so together they describe making people distrust one another.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
手手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
兆
兆zhào挑tiāo
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

挑 has 手, meaning hand, and 兆, which gives the sound.

Open 挑 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 撥; 拨 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
手手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
發
發fā撥bō
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 撥 combines 手 (hand) with 發, which gives the sound; the simplified 拨 is a different form.

Open 拨 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 離; 离 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
隹隹zhuībird
Sound part声符shēngfú
离
离lí離lí
Same sound today

The traditional form 離 pairs 隹, a bird, with the sound part 离; the simplified 离 is a shorthand. This form first wrote a black-naped oriole, and the sound was borrowed for 'leave'.

Open 离 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 间 →
Appears in
Conflict & AgreementIdioms & Set Phrases

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