颠倒是非 (diān dǎo) — 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, 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, 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, bǎ hēi de shuō chéng bái de.
    Some people like to confuse right and wrong, calling black white.

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