瞒天过海 (mán tiān guò hǎi) — (idiom) to deceive someone brazenly and skillfully; to get away with something through audacious trickery

Definition

A chengyu meaning to pull off a large-scale deception by bold trickery — literally 'fool the heavens to cross the sea.' Carries a sense of audacious, skillful concealment rather than a small lie.

idiom
to deceive someone brazenly and skillfullyto get away with something through audacious trickery

Examples

  • 瞒天过海，。
    Tā yòng de mán tiān guò hǎi zhī jì, piàn guò le suǒ yǒu rén.
    He used the trick of ‘deceiving the heavens and crossing the sea’ to fool everyone.
  • 瞒天过海。
    Zhè zhǒng mán tiān guò hǎi de shǒu fǎ zài shāng jiè bìng bù shǎo jiàn.
    This kind of audacious deception is not uncommon in the business world.
  • 瞒天过海，。
    Tā men jìng rán zài lǎo shī yǎn pí dǐ xià mán tiān guò hǎi, tōu huàn le shì juàn.
    They actually pulled an ‘deceive the heavens and cross the sea’ right under the teacher’s nose and swapped the exam papers.

Origin

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 瞞; 瞒 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
目目mùeye
Sound part声符shēngfú
㒼
㒼㒼瞞mán
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 瞞 pairs 目 (eye) with 㒼, which gives the sound and means to cover tightly; this explanation is about 瞞, not 瞒.

Open 瞒 →

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
大大dà
Sound part声符shēngfú
丁
丁dīng天tiān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The shape comes from a frontal standing man 大 with a head; 天 pairs 大 with 丁 for sound.

Open 天 →

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 過; 过 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
辵辵chuòwalk
Sound part声符shēngfú
咼
咼wāi過guò
Same sound today

The traditional form 過 pairs 辵 (walk) with 咼 as a sound component; the simplified 过 is a shorthand, and its parts are not the historical components.

Open 过 →

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
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
每
每měi海hǎi
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

海 pairs 氵 (water) with 每, which gives the sound. The 氵 side shows it is about water.

Open 海 →

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