鬼胎 (guǐ tāi) — ulterior motive; sinister design (almost always in 心怀鬼胎)
Definition
Literally 'ghost fetus,' 鬼胎 is a literary, fixed-style noun meaning a hidden sinister motive — almost always used inside the set phrase 心怀鬼胎 ('to harbor ulterior motives'). Don't parse it as a literal creature.
noun
ulterior motivesinister design (almost always in 心怀鬼胎)
Examples
- 鬼胎，。Tā xīn huái guǐ tāi, suǒ yǐ shuō huà shí bù gǎn kàn wǒ de yǎn jing.He had ulterior motives, so he didn't dare look me in the eye when he spoke.
- ，。Dà jiā dōu jué de zhè ge rén yǒu guǐ tāi, dàn shuí yě méi zhèng jù.Everyone felt that this person had ulterior motives, but no one had proof.
- 鬼胎，。Nà ge shāng rén cáng zhe guǐ tāi, nǐ bì xū xiǎo xīn dī fáng.That businessman is hiding ulterior motives; you must be on your guard.
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