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指鹿為馬

简指鹿为马 · 繁指鹿為馬

Mandarin · pinyin zhǐ lù wéi mǎ

making a deer out to be a horse (idiom); deliberate misrepresentation

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Characters in this entry

指: zhǐ · finger, toe; point, indicate
鹿: lù · deer; surname; Kangxi radical 198
為: Look up this written character
馬: Look up this written character
为: wèi · do, handle, govern, act; be
马: mǎ · horse; surname; Kangxi radical 187

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

3–4–2–3 · zhi3 lu4 wei2 ma3

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

指鹿為馬 · find source passages ↗ · 指鹿为马 · find source passages ↗

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(figurative, derogatory) to be a false witness; to deliberately misinterpret and invert right and wrong

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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