DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

認賊作父

简认贼作父 · 繁認賊作父

Mandarin · pinyin rèn zéi zuò fù

lit. to acknowledge the bandit as one's father (idiom); fig. a complete betrayal
to sell oneself to the enemy

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

認: rèn · recognize, know, understand
賊: Look up this written character
作: zuò · make; work; compose, write; act, perform
父: fù · father; Kangxi radical 88
认: rèn · recognize, know, understand
贼: zéi · thief, traitor; kill

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

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

4–2–4–4 · ren4 zei2 zuo4 fu4

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

5character links

Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗

Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

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.

認賊作父 · find source passages ↗ · 认贼作父 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

phrase

(idiomatic) to regard an enemy as one's father; to willingly join the enemy

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

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack