金蝉脱壳 (jīn chán tuō qiào) — to escape by leaving a decoy behind; a clever getaway

Definition

A chengyu from the story of a cicada shedding its shell to escape predators — used for slipping away cleverly, leaving a decoy or false trail behind.

idiom
to escape by leaving a decoy behinda clever getaway

Examples

  • 金蝉脱壳，。
    Tā yòng le yì zhāo jīn chán tuō qiào, chèn dà jiā bú zhù yì qiāo qiāo lí kāi le.
    He used the 'golden cicada sheds its shell' trick and slipped away while no one was paying attention.
  • ，金蝉脱壳，。
    Dí rén fā xiàn shí, tā men zǎo yǐ jīn chán tuō qiào, zhī liú xià kōng zhàng peng.
    By the time the enemy noticed, they had already slipped away, leaving only empty tents behind.
  • 金蝉脱壳，。
    Zhè ge jì huà shì jīn chán tuō qiào, biǎo miàn chè tuì shí jì zhuǎn yí.
    This plan is a 'golden cicada sheds its shell' — a retreat in appearance but actually a redeployment.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
主谓zhǔwèiSubject + predicate

A small sentence frozen into a word: something, and what it does or is.

金蝉golden cicada
金jīngolden蝉cháncicada
偏正Modifier + head
脱壳shed shell
脱tuōshed壳késhell
动宾Verb + object

A 金蝉 shedding its 壳 suggests leaving a decoy behind to escape.

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.

金 was drawn with marks for two pieces of metal, along with a part that gave its sound; it first meant copper, then metals and gold.

Open 金 →

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 蟬; 蝉 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
虫虫chónginsect
Sound part声符shēngfú
單
單dān蟬chán
Same sound today

The traditional form 蟬 combines 虫, meaning insect, with 單 for the sound; 蝉 is the simplified form of 蟬.

Open 蝉 →

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 脫; 脱 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
⺼Written in full as肉ròu
Sound part声符shēngfú
兌
兌duì脫tuō
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 脫 puts ⺼ (meat) beside 兌, which gives the sound; the simplified 脱 is a shorthand, and its parts are not the historical pieces.

Open 脱 →

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 殼; 壳 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
几几jǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
㱿
㱿㱿殼ké(r)
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 殼 is built from 几 (the meaning part) and 㱿 (the sound part); the simplified 壳 is a later shorthand.

Open 壳 →

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