偷梁换柱
tōu liáng huàn zhù
to replace the real thing with a fake on the sly; to pull a switch
Character by character
偷tōu
steal
steal
梁liáng
beam
beam
换huàn
swap
swap
柱zhù
pillar
pillar
Example
有的商家偷梁换柱，趁顾客不注意，把挑好的进口牛肉换成了普通牛肉。
Some sellers pull a switch: the moment a customer looks away, the imported beef they picked out is swapped for ordinary beef.
Tone: negative (criticism).
Usage and origin
Take out the good beams and pillars of a house and put in poor ones while it still looks the same. Used of swapping goods, ideas or people by stealth: 偷梁换柱的手法. 以次充好 (lesson 5-17) is narrower: passing off inferior goods as good ones.
Learn this in Lesson 139 · HSK 7–9: 茅台 (Moutai)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
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