# 扑朔迷离

pū shuò mí lí

Be confusing and hard to determine

## Meaning & wording

**Literally:** Fluttering feet and narrowed eyes blur the distinction

**Traditional Chinese:** 撲朔迷離

**Register:** Descriptive · formal

[Perspective](https://chinese-idioms.yudis.dev/idioms/topics/perspective)

## When to use it

Describe unclear facts or tangled circumstances.

Uncertainty does not prove deliberate deception.

## Understanding the expression

The expression presents signs that are difficult to distinguish clearly, so an observer cannot confidently tell what is happening. Modern use often describes a mystery, investigation, relationship, or chain of events with conflicting clues. It emphasizes uncertainty rather than merely complexity. More information may untangle the matter. The phrase should not replace checking evidence, and a situation that feels mysterious to one person may already be clear to someone with better access.

## Examples

案件的线索扑朔迷离。

### Traditional Chinese

案件的線索撲朔迷離。

àn jiàn de xiàn suǒ pū shuò mí lí 。

The case has confusing clues.

几种说法让真相扑朔迷离。

### Traditional Chinese

幾種說法讓真相撲朔迷離。

jǐ zhǒng shuō fǎ ràng zhēn xiàng pū shuò mí lí 。

The conflicting accounts obscure the truth.

故事开头扑朔迷离，结尾才揭晓。

### Traditional Chinese

故事開頭撲朔迷離，結尾才揭曉。

gù shì kāi tóu pū shuò mí lí ， jié wěi cái jiē xiǎo 。

The story begins mysteriously and resolves at the end.

资料缺失使过程扑朔迷离。

### Traditional Chinese

資料缺失使過程撲朔迷離。

zī liào quē shī shǐ guò chéng pū shuò mí lí 。

Missing records make the process hard to determine.

## Sources & reference checks

Original explanations and examples from Chinese Idioms Almanac. Source-checked October 6, 2026.

- [CC-CEDICT · forms & pronunciation](https://www.mdbg.net/chinese/dictionary?page=worddict&wdqb=%E6%92%B2%E6%9C%94%E8%BF%B7%E9%9B%A2)

- [Ministry of Education · 成語典](https://dict.idioms.moe.edu.tw/idiomView.jsp?ID=238&webMd=1&la=0)

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