装聋作哑 (zhuāng lóng zuò yǎ) — to pretend to be deaf and dumb; to deliberately ignore or play ignorant about something

Definition

An idiom meaning to deliberately feign ignorance — pretending not to know or hear something to avoid involvement or responsibility. Always carries a negative judgment about the person's evasiveness.

idiom
to pretend to be deaf and dumbto deliberately ignore or play ignorant about something

Examples

  • ，装聋作哑。
    Tā míng míng zhī dào zhēn xiàng, què zài nà lǐ zhuāng lóng zuò yǎ.
    He clearly knows the truth, but he's pretending to be deaf and dumb.
  • ，装聋作哑，。
    Yù dào zhè zhǒng wèn tí, bú yào zhuāng lóng zuò yǎ, yào yǒng gǎn miàn duì.
    When you encounter this kind of problem, don't pretend to be ignorant — face it bravely.
  • ，装聋作哑。
    Lǎo bǎn wèn shì shuí de cuò, dà jiā dōu zhuāng lóng zuò yǎ.
    When the boss asked whose fault it was, everyone pretended not to know.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

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

装聋pretend deaf
装zhuāngpretend聋lóngdeaf
动宾Verb + object
作哑act mute
作zuòact哑yǎmute
动宾Verb + object

装聋 and 作哑 combine parallel actions to mean pretend not to hear or speak.

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 裝; 装 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
衣衣yīclothes
Sound part声符shēngfú
壯
壯zhuàng裝zhuāng
Same sound today

The traditional form 裝 pairs 衣 (clothes) with 壯 as a sound part; this story is about 裝, not the simplified 装.

Open 装 →

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 聾; 聋 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
耳耳ěrear
Sound part声符shēngfú
龍
龍lóng聾lóng
Same sound today

The traditional form 聾 pairs 耳 (ear) with 龍 (lóng) as the sound part.

Open 聋 →

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
亻Written in full as人rénperson
Sound part声符shēngfú
乍
乍zhà作zuò
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left side 亻 comes from 人, meaning 'person', and the right side 乍 gives the sound.

Open 作 →

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 啞; 哑 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
口口kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
亞
亞yā啞
Same sound today

In the traditional form 啞, 口 shows the idea of mouth, and 亞 supplies the pronunciation; the simplified 哑 is a later shorthand.

Open 哑 →

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