Definition
This chengyu (four-character idiom) literally means 'to hide a dagger in a smile.' It describes someone who appears friendly and warm on the surface but has malicious, harmful intentions underneath. You use it to warn about a person who is outwardly kind but dangerous — a 'smiling tiger.' It's different from the English 'wolf in sheep's clothing' because the focus is specifically on the smile as the deceptive tool.
f.e.
to hide a dagger in a smile — malicious intent behind a friendly facade
Examples
- ，笑里藏刀，。Tā biǎomiàn shàng duì nǐ hěn hǎo, qíshí shì xiào lǐ cáng dāo, nǐ yídìng yào xiǎoxīn.He seems nice to you on the surface, but actually he is a 'dagger in a smile' — you must be careful.
- 笑里藏刀，。Zhè zhǒng xiào lǐ cáng dāo de rén zuì kěpà, yīnwèi nǐ hěn nán kàn chū tāmen de zhēn miànmù.This kind of 'dagger-in-a-smile' person is the scariest because it's hard to see their true face.
- ，笑里藏刀。Tā zǒng shì xiào mīmī de gēn nǐ shuōhuà, dàn dàjiā dōu zhīdào tā shì ge xiào lǐ cáng dāo de piànzi.She always talks to you with a big smile, but everyone knows she's a fraud with a dagger in her smile.
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