掩耳盗铃

Yǎn Ěr Dào Líng

捂住耳朵去偷铃铛。比喻自己骗自己,做傻事却以为别人不知道。

Covering your own ears while stealing a bell — fooling yourself into thinking others can't see what's plainly in front of them.

shíhòuyǒurénkànjiànlínjiāménkǒuguàzhezhīpiāoliàngdelíngdāngxīnhěnxiǎngtōuhuíjiā

shìlíngdāngzhǐyàodòngjiùhuìchūxiǎngshēngbiéréntīngjiùhuìpǎoláixiǎnglehǎojiǔzhōngxiǎngchūlebàn:“zhǐyàodeěrduoshàngjiùtīngjiànlíngshēnglebiéréndāngrántīngjiàn!”

shìshēnshǒuzhùdeěrduolìngzhīshǒuzhāizhǐlíngdānglíngdāngxiǎnglínmenshàngpǎolechūláizhuāzhùle

zhèrénwéitīngjiànbiéréntīngjiànzhēnshìyòuxiàoyòuhòuláirénmenjiùyòngyǎněrdàolíngláixíngróngzhǒngpiànwéibiérénkànjiàndeshǎxíngwéi

Long ago there was a man who saw a beautiful bell hanging at his neighbor's gate. He wanted very much to steal it.

But the bell would ring at the slightest touch, and anyone who heard it would come running. After a long think, he believed he had found a clever trick: “If I just cover my own ears, I won't hear the bell — so of course no one else will either!”

He reached up and covered his ears with one hand, and with the other tried to lift the bell from its hook. The moment it rang, the neighbors came running and caught him on the spot.

He thought that if he couldn't hear it, no one else could either — silly and self-deceiving. Ever since, people use “covering your ears to steal a bell” to describe anyone who fools only themselves while pretending the truth isn't there.