偷 | tōu | to steal / to pilfer / to snatch / thief / stealthily |
盗 | dào | to steal / to rob / to plunder / thief / bandit / robber |
贼 | zéi | thief / traitor / wily / deceitful / evil / extremely |
小偷 | xiǎo tōu | thief |
大盗 | dà dào | thief; bandit (esp. one who has gained notoriety) |
窃贼 | qiè zéi | thief |
神偷 | shén tōu | master thief |
贼喊捉贼 | zéi hǎn zhuō zéi | lit. a thief crying "Stop the thief!" (idiom) / fig. to accuse sb of a theft and try to sneak away oneself / to cover up one's misdeeds by shifting the blame onto others |
宵小 | xiāo xiǎo | thief / bandit / scoundrel / villain |
做贼心虚 | zuò zéi xīn xū | to feel guilty as a thief (idiom); to have sth on one's conscience |
以毒攻毒 | yǐ dú gōng dú | to cure ills with poison (TCM) / to fight evil with evil / set a thief to catch a thief / to fight fire with fire |
马贼 | mǎ zéi | horse thief / (old) group of horse-mounted bandits |
惯偷 | guàn tōu | habitual thief |
梁上君子 | liáng shàng jūn zǐ | lit. the gentleman on the roof beam / fig. a thief |
抓贼 | zhuā zéi | to catch a thief |
妙手空空 | miào shǒu kōng kōng | petty thief (lit. quick fingered and vanish) / empty-handed / having nothing |
开门揖盗 | kāi mén yī dào | leaving the door open invites the thief (idiom); to invite disaster by giving evildoers a free hand |
贼头贼脑 | zéi tóu zéi nǎo | lit. to behave like a thief / furtive / underhand |
惯窃 | guàn qiè | habitual thief |
惯贼 | guàn zéi | habitual thief |
偷子 | tōu zi | thief |
积贼 | jī zéi | confirmed thief |
不怕贼偷就怕贼惦记 | bù pà zéi tōu jiù pà zéi diàn jì | much worse than having something stolen is when a thief has you in his sights (idiom) |
人赃俱获 | rén zāng jù huò | (of a thief, smuggler etc) to be caught with stolen or illegal goods / to be caught red-handed |
作贼 | zuò zéi | to be a thief |