You know the kind of person who loses something and immediately declares it was stolen? Yeah, that.
有人丢失了一把斧子，怎么找也没有找到。后来他认为是邻居的儿子偷去了，他注意到邻居的孩子的言行，神情怎么看都象是一个小偷。于是他断定是那个孩子偷去了，心里还对说，“我早就看出那个家伙不是个好东西。”
第二天，他上山砍柴时在一棵树边上发现了丢失的斧子。现在他才想起来，原来是前天忘记在这里了。他后悔随便的怀疑邻居的孩子。回家后，再看那个孩子的言行和神情，根本不象是偷东西的人。于是他又对说，“我早就想过，他不是那种偷东西的人。”
后来人们就用“失斧疑邻”形容主观臆造、胡乱猜疑。
Hover a word for its pinyin & meaning; click to pin it.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 有人 | yǒu rén | someone; people; anyone; there is someone there; occupied (as in restroom) |
| 丢 | dīu | to lose; to put aside; to throw |
| 失 | shī | to lose; to miss; to fail |
| 了 | le | (completed action marker); (modal particle indicating change of state, situation now); (modal particle intensifying preceding clause); (bound form) clear in one's mind; to understand clearly |
| 一 | yī | one; single; a (article); as soon as; entire; whole; all; throughout; "one" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 1); also pr. [yao1] for greater clarity when spelling out … |
| 把 | bǎ | to hold; to grasp; to hold a baby in position to help it urinate or defecate; handlebar; classifier: handful, bundle, bunch; classifier for things with handles; (used to put the ob… |
| 斧子 | fǔ zi | axe; hatchet; CL:把[ba3] |
| 怎 | zěn | how |
| 么 | má | exclamatory final particle; variant of 麼|么[me5] |
| 找 | zhǎo | to try to find; to look for; to call on sb; to find; to seek; to return; to give change |
| 也 | Yě | surname Ye |
| 没有 | méi yǒu | haven't; hasn't; doesn't exist; to not have; to not be |
| 找到 | zhǎo dào | to find |
| 后 | Hòu | surname Hou; back; behind; rear; afterwards; after; later; post- |
| 来 | lái | to come; (used as a substitute for a more specific verb); hither (directional complement for motion toward the speaker, as in 回來|回来[hui2 lai5]); ever since (as in 自古以來|自古以来[zi4 gu3… |
| 他 | tā | (third-person singular) (since the early 20th century, usu. male) he; him; his; (bound form) other; another; some other (as in 他日[ta1 ri4] and 他人[ta1 ren2]) |
| 认为 | rèn wéi | to believe; to think; to consider; to feel |
| 是 | shì | to be (followed by substantives only); correct; right; true; (respectful acknowledgement of a command) very well; (adverb for emphatic assertion); variant of 是[shi4] |
| 邻居 | lín jū | neighbor |
| 的 | de | of; ~'s (possessive particle); (used after an attribute when it modifies a noun); (used at the end of a declarative sentence for emphasis); (used after a noun, verb or adjective to… |
| 儿子 | ér zi | son |
| 偷 | tou | to steal; to snatch; stealthily |
| 去 | qù | to go; to go to (a place); (of a time etc) last; just passed; to send; to remove; to get rid of; to reduce; to be apart from in space or time; to die (euphemism); to play (a part);… |
| 注 | zhù | (bound form) to pour into; to flow into; to inject; (bound form) to focus (one's spirit, gaze etc) on a single point; to concentrate; (bound form) stake (in gambling); classifier f…; to annotate; to provide explanatory notes on a written text; an annotation; an explanatory note; (bound form) to put on record; to register |
| 意 | yì | (bound form) idea; thought; meaning; sense; (bound form) intention; feeling; inclination; state of mind; (bound form) Italy (abbr. for 意大利[Yi4 da4 li4]) |
| 到 | dào | to reach; to arrive; to leave for; to go to; to (a place); until (a time); up to (a point); (verb complement indicating arriving at a place or reaching a point); considerate; thoug… |
| 孩子 | hái zi | child |
| 言行 | yán xíng | words and actions; what one says and what one does |
| 神情 | shén qíng | look; expression |
| 看 | kān | to look after; to take care of; to watch; to guard |
| 都 | Dū | surname Du |
| 象 | xiàng | elephant; CL:隻|只[zhi1]; shape; form; appearance; to imitate |
| 一个 | yī ge | a; an; one; the whole (afternoon, summer vacation etc) |
| 小 | xiǎo | small; tiny; few; young |
| 于是 | yú shì | thereupon; as a result; consequently; thus; hence |
| 断定 | duàn dìng | to conclude; to determine; to come to a judgment |
| 那个 | nà ge | that one; that thing; that (as opposed to this); (used before a verb or adjective for emphasis); (used to humorously or indirectly refer to sth embarrassing, funny etc, or when one… |
| 心里 | xīn li | chest; heart; mind |
| 还 | Huán | surname Huan |
| 对 | duì | right; correct; towards; at; for; concerning; regarding; to treat (sb a certain way); to face; (bound form) opposite; facing; matching; to match together; to adjust; to fit; to sui… |
| 说 | shuì | to persuade; variant of 說|说[shuo1] |
| 我 | wǒ | I; me; my |
| 早就 | zǎo jìu | already at an earlier time |
| 看出 | kàn chū | to make out; to see |
| 家 | jiā | used in 傢伙|家伙[jia1 huo5] and 傢俱|家俱[jia1 ju4]; home; family; (polite) my (sister, uncle etc); classifier for families or businesses; refers to the philosophical schools of pre-Han China; noun suffix for a specialist in some act… |
| 伙 | huó | (bound form) meals (as in 伙食[huo3 shi2]) |
| 不是 | bù shì | no; is not; not |
| 个 | gě | used in 自個兒|自个儿[zi4 ge3 r5]; variant of 個|个[ge4] |
| 好 | hǎo | good; appropriate; proper; all right!; (before a verb) easy to; (before a verb) good to; (before an adjective for exclamatory effect) so; (verb complement indicating completion); (… |
| 东 | Dōng | surname Dong |
| 西 | Xī | the West; abbr. for Spain 西班牙[Xi1 ban1 ya2]; Spanish |
| 第 | dì | (prefix indicating ordinal number, as in 第六[di4 liu4] "sixth"); (literary) grades in which successful candidates in the imperial examinations were placed; (old) residence of a high… |
| 二 | èr | two; 2; (Beijing dialect) stupid |
| 天 | tiān | day; sky; heaven |
| 上山 | shàng shān | to climb a hill; to go to the mountains; (of silkworms) to go up bundles of straw (to spin cocoons); to pass away; (of the sun or moon) to rise |
| 砍 | kán | to chop; to throw sth at sb |
| 柴 | chāi | firewood; surname Chai |
| 时 | shí | old variant of 時|时[shi2]; surname Shi |
| 在 | zài | to exist; to be alive; (of sb or sth) to be (located) at; (used before a verb to indicate an action in progress) |
| 棵 | kē | classifier for trees, cabbages, plants etc |
| 树 | shù | tree; CL:棵[ke1]; to cultivate; to set up |
| 边 | biān | side; edge; margin; border; boundary; CL:個|个[ge4]; simultaneously |
| 上 | shǎng | used in 上聲|上声[shang3 sheng1] |
| 发现 | fā xiàn | to notice; to become aware of; to discover; to find; to detect; a discovery |
| 现 | xiàn | to appear; present; now; existing; current |
| 才 | cái | ability; talent; sb of a certain type; a capable individual; then and only then; just now; (before an expression of quantity) only; (emphatic, esp. in contrast or correction) reall…; (variant of 才[cai2]) just now; (variant of 才[cai2]) (before an expression of quantity) only |
| 想起 | xiǎng qǐ | to recall; to think of; to call to mind |
| 原 | Yuán | surname Yuan; (Japanese surname) Hara |
| 前天 | qián tiān | the day before yesterday |
| 忘记 | wàng jì | to forget |
| 这里 | zhè lǐ | variant of 這裡|这里[zhe4 li3] |
| 悔 | huí | (bound form) to regret; to repent |
| 随 | Suí | surname Sui |
| 便 | biàn | plain; informal; suitable; convenient; opportune; to urinate or defecate; equivalent to 就[jiu4]: then; in that case; even if; soon afterwards |
| 怀 | huāi | bosom; heart; to cherish; to carry (in the mind or womb); surname Huai |
| 疑 | yí | (bound form) to doubt; to suspect |
| 回家 | huí jiā | to return home |
| 再 | zài | again; once more; re-; further; beyond this point of time; (before an adjective) more; then (after sth, and not until then); no matter how ... (followed by an adjective or verb, an… |
| 和 | hé | old variant of 和[he2]; surname He; (literary) harmonious (variant of 和[he2]) |
| 根 | gēn | root; basis; classifier for long slender objects, e.g. cigarettes, guitar strings; CL:條|条[tiao2]; radical (chemistry) |
| 本 | běn | (bound form) root; stem; (bound form) origin; source; (bound form) one's own; this; (bound form) this; the current (year etc); (bound form) original; (bound form) inherent; origina… |
| 不 | bù | no; not so; (bound form) not; un- |
| 人 | rén | person; people; CL:個|个[ge4],位[wei4],名[ming2] |
| 又 | yòu | (once) again; also; both... and...; and yet; (used for emphasis) anyway |
| 想 | xiǎng | to think (about); to think of; to devise; to think (that); to believe (that); to desire; to want (to); to miss (feel wistful about the absence of) |
| 过 | Guō | surname Guo |
| 那种 | nà zhǒng | that kind of |
| 们 | men | plural marker for pronouns, and nouns referring to individuals |
| 就 | jìu | (after a suppositional clause) in that case; then; (after a clause of action) as soon as; immediately after; (same as 就是[jiu4 shi4]) merely; nothing else but; simply; just; precise… |
| 用 | yòng | to use; to make use of; to employ; (coverb) with; using; to need; to have to (usu. used in the negative or in questions); usefulness; utility; (bound form) expense; outlay; (courte… |
| 斧 | fǔ | hatchet |
| 邻 | lín | neighbor; adjacent; close to; variant of 鄰|邻[lin2] |
| 形容 | xíng róng | to describe; (literary) countenance; appearance |
| 主观 | zhǔ guān | subjective |
| 臆 | ||
| 造 | zǎo | to make; to manufacture; to fabricate; party (in a lawsuit or legal agreement); classifier for crops |
| 胡 | Hú | surname Hu; used in 衚衕|胡同[hu2 tong4]; beard; mustache; whiskers |
| 乱 | luàn | in confusion or disorder; in a confused state of mind; disorder; upheaval; riot; illicit sexual relations; to throw into disorder; to mix up; indiscriminate; random; arbitrary |
| 猜疑 | cāi yí | to suspect; to have misgivings; suspicious; misgivings |
There once was a man who lost his axe, and though he searched all over for it he still couldn’t find it. After a while he thought it must have been that the neighbor’s son stole it, so he began to take note of the child’s expressions, words and actions and thought they were all those of a thief. Thus, he concluded that it was the neighbor’s kid that stole it, and in his heart he said, “I always thought that guy was no good.”
On the second day, when he went up the mountain to chop firewood and at the side of a tree he found his lost axe. Now he finally remembered that he’d actually forgotten it there two days before. He regretted casually suspecting his neighbor’s child. After he returned home, he took another look at the child’s behavior, words and actions, and he didn’t seem at all like a person who would steal anything. So he said, “I’ve always thought that [that kid] is not the kind of person who would steal”.
After this, people have used the phrase “Lose the Axe and Suspect the Neighbor” to describe inventing subjective feelings and careless suspicions.