Chinese language vocabulary 汉语词汇 做贼心虚(zuò zéi-xīn xū)

Zhè gè cí yuányú Sòng cháo yí wèi chánshī shuō de yí jù huà. Yí cì, zài sìmiào lǐ, dàjiā dōu hěn qiánchéng dì yì biān qídǎo, yì biān tīng fāngzhàng jiǎng fófǎ. Tūrán, yí wèi chánshī wèn pángbiān de shìzhě gānggāng yǒu méiyǒu rén tōukàn fāngzhàng, shìzhě xiǎng le xiǎng, huídá shuō yǒu. Chánshī biàn huídá dào:” zuò zéi rénxīn xū.”
这个词源于宋朝一位禅师说的一句话。一次，在寺庙里，大家都很虔诚地一边祈祷，一边听方丈讲佛法。突然，一位禅师问旁边的侍者刚刚有没有人偷看方丈，侍者想了想，回答说有。禅师便回答道：“作贼人心虚。”

This phrase originates from a sentence uttered by a Chan Master during the Song Dynasty. A group of people prayed piously in the temple while listening to an abbot explained Buddhist doctrine. Suddenly, one Chan Master asked an attendant next to him if there was anyone secretly viewing the abbot. The attendant thought a while and said yes. The abbot said, “Someone who committed a crime has a guilty conscience”.

Chánshī shuō zhè jù huà de yìsī shì zhǐ tōukàn fāngzhàng de rén yīnwèi zhī qián zuò le huàishì pà rén fāxiàn, zài tīng fāngzhàng jiǎng fófǎ de shíhòu xīn zhōng bù’ān cái wúfǎ zhuānxīn, fǎn ér bù shí de kàn fāngzhàng.
禅师说这句话的意思是指偷看方丈的人因为之前做了坏事怕人发现，在听方丈讲佛法的时候心中不安才无法专心，反而不时地看方丈。

The meaning of this sentence is that someone who secretly looks at the abbot is afraid to be found out for what he’d done. He can’t focus when he listens to the abbot explain Buddhist doctrine, so he stares secretly at him instead.

Words：
虔诚qiánchéng： sincere (adj.)
祈祷qiánchéng： to pray (v.)
方丈fāngzhàng： abbot (n.)
禅师chánshī： a Buddhist monk (n.)
侍者shìzhě： waiter (n. )
不时bùshí： often (adv.)

Meaning：

“做贼心虚”比喻做了坏事的人，因怕被人发现，因此总觉得心里不安。

metaphorically, “做贼心虚”means people who do bad things feel uneasy, because they are afraid they will be discovered.

Sentences：

1.Tā zuòbì shí nà zuòzéi-xīnxū de shénsè mǎshàng yǐnqǐ le lǎoshī de huáiyí 。
他作弊时那做贼心虚的神色马上引起了老师的怀疑。

His guilty look immediately alerted the teacher’s suspicion that he was cheating.

2. Yuánlái tā liǎnhóng búshì yīnwèi hàixiū, érshì zuòzéi-xīnxū.
原来她脸红不是因为害羞,而是做贼心虚。

She blushed not because she was shy, but because she was guilty.