浑水摸鱼 (hún shuǐ mō yú) — to fish in troubled waters (idiom); to take advantage of a crisis for personal gain

Definition

Idiom meaning to exploit chaos for personal gain — like 'fishing in troubled waters', but always carries a negative, opportunistic judgment about the person doing it.

verb
to fish in troubled waters (idiom)to take advantage of a crisis for personal gain

Examples

  • 浑水摸鱼，。
    Yǒu xiē rén xǐ huan zài wēi jī zhōng hún shuǐ mō yú, chèn jī fā cái.
    Some people like to fish in troubled waters during crises and get rich.
  • 浑水摸鱼，。
    Tā lì yòng shì chǎng de hùn luàn hún shuǐ mō yú, zhuàn le yí dà bǐ qián.
    He took advantage of the market chaos to fish in troubled waters and made a lot of money.
  • ，浑水摸鱼，。
    Zài zhèng zhì dòng dàng shí qī, zǒng yǒu rén xiǎng hún shuǐ mō yú, móu qǔ sī lì.
    During political turmoil, there are always people who want to fish in troubled waters for personal gain.

Origin

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 渾; 浑 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
氵Written in full as水shuǐriver
Sound part声符shēngfú
軍
軍jūn渾hún
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 渾 pairs 氵 (river) with 軍 to give the sound; the simplified 浑 is a later shorthand, and its right side is not the historical component.

Open 浑 →

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

水 is a simple drawing of water flowing.

Open 水 →

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
手手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
莫
莫mò摸mō
Same sound today

摸 pairs 手 (hand) with 莫; 手 shows the meaning is about a hand action, and 莫 gives the sound.

Open 摸 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 魚; 鱼 is its simplified writing.

For 鱼, the traditional form 魚 is a picture of a fish.

Open 鱼 →

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