明枪易躲

Pronunciation: míng qiāng yì duǒ Literal meaning: An open spear is easy to dodge

Origin & Usage

The saying is a matched pair and only works whole: 明枪易躲，暗箭难防 — an open (明) spear (枪) is easy (易) to dodge (躲), a hidden arrow hard to guard against. It belongs to Yuan drama and later vernacular. The visible threat is named in order to be dismissed, so that the concealed one can be the point, and Chinese uses the phrase almost entirely to warn about the second half: the attack you can see is not the one that will land.

Examples

English: "She preferred direct criticism to unspoken disapproval"

Chinese: 她更喜欢直接的批评而不是未说出口的不满