无中生有
- Literal
- from nothing, something is born
- Figurative
- To make something up out of thin air, such as a false charge or a fake story; not passing on a rumor but fabricating it outright.
Where does 无中生有 come from?
It does not come from a story. The underlying idea is in the 《老子》, which says that all things are born of being and being is born of non-being: a reflection on the origin of the world, with nothing negative about it. Later, 无中生有 gave its name to one of the "Thirty-Six Stratagems," that of creating a false impression and exploiting it later. In today's usage it is almost always an accusation: deliberately inventing a fact, a rumor or a fault. Unlike 道听途说 (repeating hearsay) or 空穴来风 (an unfounded rumor), here someone manufactures the lie.
Source (出处): 《老子》
How is 无中生有 used? Two examples
- 同事无中生有，跟老板说我上班时间在打游戏。
A coworker made it up out of thin air and told the boss I play video games during work hours.
- 这个博主为了流量无中生有，说某个明星偷偷离婚了。
To drive traffic, this blogger conjured up out of nowhere a claim that a certain celebrity had secretly divorced.
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