顺手牵羊 / 順手牽羊
shùn shǒu qiān yáng
Meaning
- literally to lead away a goat while passing by (idiom)
- figuratively to opportunistically pocket someone's possessions and walk off
Example sentences
他不是在偷皮夹子，他是顺手牵羊。
他不是在偷皮夾子，他是順手牽羊。
tā bú shì zài tōu pí jiā zi， tā shì shùn shǒu qiān yáng。
He wasn't stealing the wallet; he was just taking advantage of the situation.
别装傻！你顺手牵羊的时候警卫都看在眼里了。
別裝傻！你順手牽羊的時候警衛都看在眼裏了。
bié zhuāng shǎ！ nǐ shùn shǒu qiān yáng de shí hòu jǐng wèi dōu kàn zài yǎn lǐ le。
Don't play dumb! The guards saw you stealing.