笑里藏刀 (xiào lǐ cáng dāo) — to hide a dagger in a smile — malicious intent behind a friendly facade

Definition

A 成语 meaning a smile that hides a dagger — someone who appears friendly while actually plotting harm. Describes the PERSON (their hidden malice), not the act.

idiom
to hide a dagger in a smile — malicious intent behind a friendly facade

Examples

  • ，笑里藏刀，。
    Tā biǎo miàn shàng duì nǐ hěn hǎo, qí shí shì xiào lǐ cáng dāo, nǐ yí dìng yào xiǎo xīn.
    He seems nice to you on the surface, but actually he is a 'dagger in a smile' — you must be careful.
  • 笑里藏刀，。
    Zhè zhǒng xiào lǐ cáng dāo de rén zuì kě pà, yīn wèi nǐ hěn nán kàn chū tā men de zhēn miàn mù.
    This kind of 'dagger-in-a-smile' person is the scariest because it's hard to see their true face.
  • ，笑里藏刀。
    Tā zǒng shì xiào mī mī dì gēn nǐ shuō huà, dàn dà jiā dōu zhī dào tā shì gè xiào lǐ cáng dāo de piàn zi.
    She always talks to you with a big smile, but everyone knows she's a fraud with a dagger in her smile.

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.

笑里inside a smile
笑xiàosmile里lǐinside
偏正Modifier + head
藏刀hide a knife
藏cánghide刀dāoknife
动宾Verb + object

笑里 means inside a smile and 藏刀 means hides a knife, together describe malicious intent behind friendliness.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
犬犬quǎndog
Sound part声符shēngfú
艸
艸cǎo笑xiào
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

An early 笑 used the grass 艸 for the sound and the dog 犬 for the meaning; later it was written with 竹 and 夭.

Open 笑 →

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 裡; 里 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 里 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (里, 里面) it is 裡; in others (公里) it is 里 or 裏.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
衤Written in full as衣yīclothes
Sound part声符shēngfú
里
里lǐ裡lǐ
Same sound today

The form 裡 pairs 衤 (clothes) with 里 as a sound component.

Open 里 →

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
艸艸cǎograss
Sound part声符shēngfú
臧
臧zāng藏cáng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

藏 is made from 艸 (grass) and 臧, where 臧 gives the sound.

Open 藏 →

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

The shape of 刀 comes from a simple picture of a knife.

Open 刀 →

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