尔虞我诈

Pronunciation: ěr yú wǒ zhà Literal meaning: You deceive, I trick

Origin & Usage

The Zuo Zhuan records the terms agreed when Chu's siege of Song was lifted: 我无尔诈，尔无我虞 — I will not deceive you, you will not deceive me. The idiom is built out of that pledge with the negatives stripped away, so a promise of mutual honesty has become the name for mutual bad faith. Commercial and political relations conducted entirely in suspicion — and the origin is worth knowing, since the phrase began as the exact opposite of what it now means.

Examples

English: "In the world of politics, it often feels like everyone is engaged in mutual deception."

Chinese: 在政治界，尔虞我诈的现象屡见不鲜。