颠倒是非 (diān dǎo shì fēi) — to deliberately confuse right and wrong; to turn truth on its head

Definition

A set phrase meaning 'to deliberately turn truth upside down' — to call black white for selfish reasons. Note that 颠倒 carries the sense of intentional distortion, not a simple mistake.

verb
to deliberately confuse right and wrongto turn truth on its head

Examples

  • 颠倒是非
    Tā wèi le zì jǐ de lì yì, jìng rán diān dǎo shì fēi, qī piàn dà jiā.
    For his own benefit, he actually confounded right and wrong and deceived everyone.
  • 颠倒是非
    Xīn wén bào dào bù néng diān dǎo shì fēi, bì xū kè guān zhēn shí.
    News reports must not distort the truth; they must be objective and factual.
  • 颠倒是非
    Yǒu xiē rén xǐ huan diān dǎo shì fēi, bǎ hēi de shuō chéng bái de.
    Some people like to confuse right and wrong, calling black white.

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