secretly substitute one thing for another; perpetrate a fraud
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 3 examplesidiom
to steal the beams and replace the pillars; to perpetrate a fraud by secretly substituting one thing for another
formalOriginally a military stratagem from ancient Chinese warfare (36 Stratagems), referring to secretly weakening an enemy's structure. Now widely used to describe fraudulent substitution in commercial, political, or personal contexts.
Tā他
men们
tōu偷
liáng梁
huàn换
zhù柱
，
yòng用
jiǎ假
huò货
tì替
huàn换
le了
zhēn真
pǐn品
。
They perpetrated a fraud by secretly substituting fake goods for the real ones.
Zhè这
fèn份
hé合
tóng同
bèi被
rén人
tōu偷
liáng梁
huàn换
zhù柱
，
gǎi改
le了
guān关
jiàn键
tiáo条
kuǎn款
。
This contract was tampered with, with key clauses secretly changed.
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Yǒu有
xiē些
bù不
liáng良
shāng商
jiā家
tōu偷
liáng梁
huàn换
zhù柱
，
yǐ以
cì次
chōng充
hǎo好
。
Some unscrupulous merchants pass off inferior goods as superior ones by fraudulent substitution.