金蝉脱壳 jīn chán tuō qiào

to escape by leaving a decoy; slip away unseen

Word data

HSK Not in HSK
Frequency 47642nd word

Definitions

  1. 1. lit. the cicada sheds its carapace (idiom); fig. to vanish leaving an empty shell
  2. 2. a crafty escape plan

Characters

Character Meaning
金 jīn HSK 4
gold; money; golden
蝉 chán
cicada
脱 tuō HSK 4
to take off; to shed; to get away from
壳 qiào HSK 6
shell; also pr. ké; crust (earth's crust etc)