Chinese word dictionary

指桑骂槐

zhǐ sāng mà huái · lit. to point at the mulberry tree and curse the locust tree; fig. to scold sb indirectly; to make oblique accusations (idiom)

Practice word

Word information

Simplified指桑骂槐

Traditional指桑罵槐

Pinyinzhǐ sāng mà huái

Part of speechDictionary

HSK 3.0Not listed

HSK 2.0Not listed

Character breakdown

Study each Hanzi separately, then return to the complete word so pronunciation, meaning, and movement stay connected.

指zhǐ

finger, toe; to point, to indicate

桑sāng

mulberry tree; surname

骂mà

to accuse, to blame, to curse, to scold

槐huái

locust tree

How to learn 指桑骂槐

Listen once without reading, repeat the pinyin with its tones, then write every character in sequence. Finally, recall the complete meaning instead of memorizing each character as an isolated translation.

When the word appears in a sentence, check whether its part of speech and meaning match the definition shown here. Chinese words can change nuance with context.

Related vocabulary

Words with the same characters

Compare how a familiar Hanzi changes meaning inside another word.

指zhǐ

finger; to point at or to; to indicate or refer to; to depend on; to count on; (of hair) to stand on end

指出zhǐchū

to indicate; to point out

骂mà

to scold; to abuse; to curse; CL:通[tong4],頓|顿[dun4]; variant of 罵|骂[ma4]

手指shǒuzhǐ

finger; CL:個|个[ge4],隻|只[zhi1]

指导zhǐdǎo

to guide; to direct; to instruct; coach; trainer

戒指jièzhi

(finger) ring