諺語 · a single proverb
三人成虎
What does 三人成虎 (sān rén chéng hǔ) mean?
三人成虎 (sān rén chéng hǔ) is a four-character classical idiom (chéngyǔ 成語). Word for word it reads "three people make a tiger." In use it means: Repeated rumors, even false ones, come to be believed. You reach for it when you want that idea in one breath, and the Wood note it carries is why we hand it to those born in the Year of the Tiger.
Literally: "three people make a tiger."
The reading
The tiger was never in the marketplace, yet three witnesses convinced a king it was there. Repetition does the work of truth when truth is absent, and the crowd rarely stops to check. What we hear often enough we begin to smell.
What kind of proverb it is
Source Warring States 戰國策·魏策二 (Zhàn Guó Cè, Wei Strategies II)
Sits beside
Keep reading
Return to the Proverb Pond to draw another of the eighty-seven, or hear one read aloud. Read the rest of its chapter in Friendship, Trust & Speech, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Tiger, Year of the Rat, and Year of the Ox.
Questions
Is 三人成虎 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 三人成虎 (sān rén chéng hǔ) is a four-character classical idiom (chéngyǔ 成語), and it comes from Warring States 戰國策·魏策二 (Zhàn Guó Cè, Wei Strategies II). It is living Chinese heritage, given here with per-character pinyin and its source so you can trust the line, not a phrase invented in English.
How do you pronounce 三人成虎?
In Mandarin it is sān rén chéng hǔ. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 三人成虎 aloud in Mandarin.