此地無銀三百兩 (Cǐ dì wú yín sān bǎi liǎng)
Lit. 300 silver taels not hidden here (idiom); fig. to reveal what one intends to hide
From: https://www.chinesewords.org/idiom/show-3675.html
Story: Once upon a time there was a man name Zhang San (張三, lit. Zhang the Third) who liked to act cleverly. He had saved up three hundred taels of silver and was very happy [about this], but he was also very distressed as he feared the large sum could be stolen by others, for he knew not where to safely store them. It was inconvenient to carry them with him, as a petty thief could easily detect them; to put them in a drawer, he realized that this was not appropriate [either], as this too could easily be taken away by a thief. In any case, it was not suitable to leave the silver taels anywhere. He held the silver [in his hands] and racked his brain for a long time, turning things over and over in his mind, and finally came up with what he thought was the best method [possible]. Zhang San took advantage of the darkness of the night and dug a hole in a corner of the wall behind his house, [then] stealthily buried the silver taels in it. After burying them, he was still feeling uneasy, fearing that others might suspect that the silver were buried there. He thought about the matter again and again, and finally came up with another solution. He went back to the house and wrote on a piece of paper these seven words “There aren’t three hundred silver taels here”. Then he went and pasted this [piece of paper] on the wall [corner] by the hole. He felt that this made it much safer, and went back home to sleep.
[Note: in the Chinese text, there were only seven words “此地無銀三百兩”, but I couldn’t fit them into seven English words. Hence I took the liberty to contract “are not” to “aren’t”, and consider this as one single word =)]
Zhang San’s distracted appearance throughout the day had long caught the attention of his neighbor Wang Er (王二, lit. Wang the Second), who at night also heard the sound of digging outside his house and thought this being very strange. So when Zhang San went back to sleep, Wang Er went to the back of the house, and with the help of the moonlight, saw a piece of paper pasted in the wall corner with the following seven words “There aren’t three hundred silver taels here”. Wang Er understood everything [at once]. He quietly removed the buried silver taels and filled up the hole. Wang Er then returned to his house and was greatly overjoyed upon seeing the silver in front of his eyes, but [soon] his fear overtook him. He thought that, if tomorrow Zhang San was to find out his silver taels were missing and suspected that it was him [who did this], then what should he do? So a bright idea came to his mind where he picked up a brush and wrote down on a piece of paper these seven words “Wang Er next door didn’t steal it”, and pasted it near the [filled] hole on the wall corner.
[Note: in the Chinese text, there were only seven words “隔壁王二不曾偷”. I took the liberty to contract “did not” to “didn’t” like before, and consider this as one single word =)]
[Note from original Chinese text]: Based on this folktale, people later used the phrase “There aren’t three hundred silver taels here; Wang Er next door didn’t steal it” (此地無銀三百兩，隔壁王 二不曾偷) as an idiom to describe a [seemingly] clever attempt to conceal or cover up what one had done, yet in the end actually made the truth more obvious. Today, this idiom has been shortened to “There are no silver here” (此地無銀). [On the other hand,] “There aren’t three hundred silver taels here” originally took on its literal meaning; but people later used this idiom to describe someone handling matters in a stupid way, and completely revealed what one intended to hide.
—– VOCABULARY —–
勁兒 jìnr – erhua variant of 勁
勁 jìn – strength; energy; enthusiasm; spirit; mood; expression; interest [[kính: cứng, mạnh; cứng cỏi, ngay thẳng; sức mạnh, lực lượng; tinh thần, lòng hăng hái; hứng thú, thú vị; bộ dạng, thái độ]]
積 jī – to amass; to accumulate; to store; measured quantity (such as area of volume); product (the result of multiplication); to integrate (math) [[tích: chứa, trữ, gom góp; chồng chất, đọng; nghẽn tắc, trở ngại không thông; lâu ngày, lâu đời]]
攢 zǎn – to collect; to hoard; to accumulate; to save [[toàn: tập họp, tụ tập, gom góp; kết toán; ráp nối; cầm, nắm; lượng từ – đôi, bó, nắm, xấp]]
總 zǒng – always; to assemble; gather; total; overall; head; chief; general; in every case [[tổng: góp lại, họp lại; buộc, bó, túm lại; đứng đầu, cầm đầu, nắm toàn bộ; bó rạ, bó lúa; đều, tất cả đều; cứ, mãi, luôn luôn]]
箱子 xiāng zi – suitcase; chest; box; case; trunk
箱 xiāng – box, trunk, chest [[tương: hòm xe, toa xe; hòm, rương; kho chứa]]
釘 dīng – nail; to follow closely; to keep at sb (to do sth) [[đinh: cái đinh; nhìn chăm chú; theo dõi, bám sát; thúc giục, nhắc nhở]]
dìng – to join things together by fixing them in place at one or more points; to nail; to pin; to staple; to sew on [[đính: đóng đinh; đơm, khâu vá]]
埋 mái – to bury [[mai: chôn; vùi xuống đất]]
這兒 zhèr – here
挖 wā – to dig; to excavate; to scoop out [[oạt: đào, khoét; moi, móc]]
巧妙 qiǎo miào – ingenious; clever; ingenuity; artifice
巧 qiǎo – opportunely; coincidentally; as it happens; skillful; timely [[xảo: thông minh, linh hoạt; khéo, giỏi; tươi, đẹp; giả dối, hư ngụy; giá rẻ; tài khéo, tài nghệ]]
紙張 zhǐ zhāng – paper
紙 zhǐ – paper; classifier for documents, letter etc [[chỉ: giấy]]
貼 tiē – to stick; to paste; to post (e.g. on a blog); to keep close to; to fit snugly; to subsidize; allowance (e.g. money for food or housing); sticker; classifier for sticking plaster – strip [[thiếp: dán; áp sát, gần sát, men theo; thuận phục, phục tòng; phụ thêm, bù; cầm, đợ]]
牆角 qiáng jiǎo – corner (junction of two walls)
牆 qiáng – wall [[tường: tường, vách (xây bằng gạch, đất, đá)]]
角 jiǎo – angle; corner; horn; horn-shaped; unit of money equal to 0.1 yuan [[giác]]
隔壁 gé bì – next door; neighbor
壁 bì – wall; rampart [[bích: bức vách; sườn núi dốc; lũy đắp trong trại quân]]
恍然大悟 huǎng rán dà wù – to suddenly realize; to suddenly see the light
恍 huǎng – disappointed; flurried; indistinct [[hoảng: bỗng, hốt nhiên; phảng phất, mơ hồ, hình như]]
悟 wù – to comprehend; to apprehend; to become aware [[ngộ: hiểu ra, vỡ lẽ; khai mở tâm thức, làm cho không mê muội nữa, làm cho tỉnh]]
從前 cóng qián – previously; formerly; once upon a time [[trước đây, về trước]]
自作聰明 zì zuò cōng míng – to think oneself clever (idiom)
積攢 jī zǎn – to save bit by bit; to accumulate
攢 zǎn – to collect; to hoard; to accumulate; to save [[toàn: tập họp, tụ tập, gom góp; kết toán; ráp nối; cầm, nắm; lượng từ – đôi, bó, nắm, xấp]]
苦惱 kǔ nǎo – vexed, distressed
惱 nǎo – to get angry [[não: tức giận, nổi cáu, bực mình; làm ray rứt, phiền rầy; buồn bực, phiền muộn]]
存放 cún fàng – to deposit; to leave in sb’s care;
方便 fāng biàn – convenient; suitable; to facilitate; to make things easy; having money to spare; (euphemism) to relieve oneself
容易 róng yì – easy, likely, liable (to) [[an nhàn, thanh thản, dễ chịu]]
察覺 chá jué – to sense; to perceive; to become aware; to detect [[nhận thấy, phát hiện]]
察 chá – to examine; to inquire; to observe; to inspect; to look into; obvious; clearly evident [[sát: nhìn xem kĩ càng; biện rõ, xét kĩ, tường thẩm; tìm tòi, điều tra; hiểu, biết, lí giải; tiến cử, tuyển bạt (sau khi khảo sát); bày tỏ, biểu bạch]]
抽屜 chōu ti – drawer
抽 chōu – to draw out; to pull out from in between; to remove part of the whole; (of certain plants) to sprout or bud; to whip or thrash [[trừu: rút ra; đưa, dẫn; kéo dài; hút, bơm; quật, vụt; nẩy ra, nhú ra; trích lấy, bỏ ra, lấy một phần trong cả bộ; co, co rút; tuôn ra, trào ra; nhổ, trừ bỏ]]
屜 tì – drawer; tier; tray [[thế: ngăn kéo, “trừu thế” 抽屜 ngăn kéo; lồng hấp, vỉ chưng; cái lót trên yên ngựa; giát (giường), mặt (ghế)]]
妥當 tuǒ dang – appropriate; proper; ready
妥 tuǒ – suitable; adequate; ready; settled [[thỏa: ổn đáng; thích nghi, thích hợp; xong xuôi, hoàn bị; ổn, yên; rơi, rủ xuống]]
反正 fǎn zhèng – anyway; in any case; to come over from the enemy’s side
捧 pěng – to clasp; to cup the hands; to hold up with both hands; to offer (esp. in cupped hands); to praise; to flatter [[phủng: bưng, nâng, bế, ôm; vỗ, đè; nịnh hót, tâng bốc; lượng từ – vốc, nắm, bó]]
奉 fèng – to offer (tribute); to present respectfully (to superior, ancestor, deity, etc.); to esteem; to revere; to believe in (a religion); to wait upon; to accept orders (from superior) [[phụng: dâng lên (người bề trên); kính biếu, hiến; kính vâng, kính nhận (mệnh ý của người trên); hầu hạ; tôn, suy tôn; tin thờ, tín ngưỡng; cúng tế; theo, hùa]]
冥思苦想 míng sī kǔ xiǎng – to consider from all angles (idiom); to think hard; to rack one’s brains
冥 míng – dark; deep; stupid; the underworld [[minh: u ám, tối tăm, như “u minh” 幽冥 u ám; ngu tối; liên quan tới sự sau khi chết; cao xa, thăm thẳm, bao la, man mác; thâm sâu; cách xa; địa ngục, âm phủ; bể, biển]]
趁 chèn – to avail oneself of; to take advantage of [[sấn: theo, đi theo; đuổi theo; tìm, kiếm; thừa dịp, lợi dụng, thừa cơ; đáp, ghé (thuyền, tàu); chuẩn bị kịp thời]]
挖 wā – to dig; to excavate; to scoop out [[oạt: đào, khoét; moi, móc]]
坑 kēng – hole, pit, tunnel; to defraud [[khanh: hố, vũng; hầm; tục gọi nhà xí là “khanh”; chôn sống; hãm hại, lừa dối]]
亢 kàng – high; overbearing; excessive [[kháng: cao; cao ngạo; quá, thậm; chống cự; che chở, bảo hộ]]
悄悄 qiāo qiāo – quietly; secretly; stealthily; quiet; worried
悄 qiǎo – quiet; sad [[tiễu: lo buồn; lặng yên, lặng lẽ]]
貼 tiē – to stick; to paste; to post (e.g. on a blog); to keep close to; to fit snugly; to subsidize; allowance (e.g. money for food or housing); stick; classifier for sticking plaster: strip [[thiếp: dán; áp sát, gần sát, men theo; thuận phục, phục tòng; phụ thêm, bù; cầm, đợ; thỏa đáng, ổn thỏa]]
睡覺 shuì jiào – to go to bed; to sleep
整天 zhěng tiān – all day long; whole day [[suốt một ngày, cả ngày]]
整 zhěng – exactly; in good order; whole; complete; entire; in order; orderly; to repair; to mend; to renovate; to fix sb; to give sb a hard time; to mess with sb [[chỉnh: sửa sang, an trị; sửa chữa, tu sửa, sửa; tập hợp; đều, ngay ngắn, có thứ tự; nguyên vẹn, nguyên; suốt, cả; vừa đúng, tròn, chẵn]]
鄰居 lín jū – neighbor; next door
睡覺 shuì jiào – to go to bed; to sleep
一切 yī qiè – everything; every; all [[tất cả, mọi thứ]]
輕手輕腳 qīng shǒu qīng jiǎo – (to move or do sth) softly and quietly
填 tián – to fill or stuff; (of a form etc) to fill in [[điền: lấp đầy; dồn ứ, chứa đầy; viết thêm vào (trên đơn từ)]]
起來 qǐ lai – to stand up; to get up
丟 diū – to lose; to put aside; to throw [[đâu: mất hẳn, đi không trở lại nữa; ném đi, quăng; đưa, liếc]]
靈機一動 líng jī yī dòng – a bright idea suddenly occurs (idiom); to hit upon an inspiration; to be struck by a brainwave
隱瞞 yǐn mán – to conceal; to hide (a taboo subject); to cover up the truth
瞞 mán – to conceal from; to keep (sb) in the dark [[man: dối, lừa, giấu giếm; như “ẩn man” 隱瞞 che giấu, lấp liếm; đệm, lót, chêm vào; men theo, thuận theo; không bắt mắt, không được chú trọng; dáng nhắm mắt, lim dim]]
掩飾 yǎn shì – to cover up; to conceal; to mask; to gloss over
掩 yǎn – to cover up; to close; to surprise [[yểm: bưng, ngậm, min, đóng; che lấp; ngưng lại, đình chỉ; úp lấy, chụp lấy, thừa lúc không phòng bị mà đánh úp]]
飾 shì – decoration; ornament; to decorate; to adorn; to hide; to conceal (a fault); excuse (to hide a fault); to play a role (in opera); to impersonate [[sức: trang điểm, làm cho đẹp; che đậy, ngụy trang; giả thác, giả bộ; tẩy rửa cho sạch sẽ; áo quần]]
所 suǒ – actually; place; classifier for houses, small buildings, institutions etc; that which; particle introducing a relative clause or passive [[nơi, chốn; vị trí thích hợp; lượng từ, đơn vị về phòng ốc; cơ quan, cơ cấu; đó, như thế; biểu thị nghi vấn]]
干 gān – to concern; to interfere; shield; stem; — dry; clean; in vain; dried food; foster; adoptive; to ignore [[can: phạm, mạo phạm; cầu, muốn được; giữ; chen dự vào; liên quan, có quan hệ; bến nước, bờ; bè, nhóm, bọn]]
反而 fǎn ér – instead; on the contrary; contrary (to expectations) [[trái mong muốn, trái dự định]]
暴露 bào lù – to expose; to reveal; to lay bare [[bộc lộ, bày tỏ, biểu lộ]]
明顯 míng xiǎn – clear; distinct; obvious [[rõ ràng, rành mạch, rõ rệt, sáng sủa]]
由于 yóu yú – due to; as a result of; thanks to; owing to; since; because
愚蠢 yú chǔn – silly, stupid [[ngu xuẩn, xuẩn ngốc]]
愚 yú – to be stupid; to cheat or deceive; me or I (modest) [[ngu: dốt nát, ngu muội, không thông minh; đôn hậu, thật thà; dùng làm lời nói khiêm (về ý kiến, điều lo nghĩ… của mình); người ngu dốt; lừa dối]]
蠢 chǔn – stupid; sluggish; clumsy; to wiggle (of worms); to move in a disorderly fashion [[xuẩn: ngu si, ngu ngốc, ngờ nghệch; vụng về, cục mịch; vô lễ, không nhún thuận]]
徹底 chè dǐ – thorough; thoroughly; complete [[triệt để, hoàn toàn, trọn vẹn]]
徹 chè – thorough; penetrating; to pervade; to pass through [[triệt: thông, suốt, thấu; trừ khử, bỏ; lấy, bóc; canh tác, làm; tuân theo; thôi, hết, dứt]]
底 dǐ – background; bottom; base; end (of the month, year etc); remnants; base [[để: đáy, trôn, gầm, đế; nguồn gốc, căn nguyên; cuối (nói về thời gian); văn thư mới thảo; nền; đạt đến; ngưng trệ, ngừng]]