尔虞我诈 (ěr yú wǒ zhà) — each trying to outwit the other; mutual deception and scheming

Definition

A chengyu describing a relationship or environment where both sides scheme and lie to each other, with no trust at all. Used to criticize dishonest dealings, especially in business or politics.

idiom
each trying to outwit the othermutual deception and scheming

Examples

  • ，尔虞我诈。
    Zài shāng chǎng shàng, ěr yú wǒ zhà de shì qing bìng bù shǎo jiàn.
    In the business world, mutual deception is not uncommon.
  • 尔虞我诈，。
    Tā men zhī jiān ěr yú wǒ zhà, shuí dōu bú xìn rèn shuí.
    There is mutual deception between them; no one trusts anyone.
  • 尔虞我诈。
    Zhè zhǒng ěr yú wǒ zhà de huán jìng ràng rén gǎn dào fēi cháng pí bèi.
    This kind of environment full of mutual deception makes people feel very exhausted.

Origin

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

假借jiǎjièLater borrowed for its sound alone — the picture has nothing to do with today’s meaning.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 爾; 尔 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 爾, simplified as 尔, originally drew cloth on a loom with crossing threads. It was borrowed for its sound to write “you,” so the picture is unrelated to that meaning.

Open 尔 →

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
虍虍hūtiger
Sound part声符shēngfú
吳
吳wú虞yú
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

虞 is built from 虍, a tiger, and 吳, which gives the sound.

Open 虞 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

假借jiǎjièLater borrowed for its sound alone — the picture has nothing to do with today’s meaning.

The glyph 我 originally drew a trident-like weapon. It was borrowed purely for its sound to write the pronoun "I", so the picture and the meaning are unrelated.

Open 我 →

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 詐; 诈 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yán
Sound part声符shēngfú
乍
乍zhà詐zhà
Same sound today

The traditional form 詐 shows 言 (speech) plus 乍 as a sound part; the simplified 诈 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the historical ones.

Open 诈 →

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