Chinese idiom · 成语
瓜田李下
Meaning
In a melon field or under a plum tree; to avoid suspicious situations.
Character by character
Origin and story
Literary adviceThe anonymous Yuefu poem Junzi Xing (君子行), preserved in Yuefu Shiji (樂府詩集), volume 32, advises a person of integrity to avoid occasions for suspicion. Its examples are adjusting shoes in a melon patch and straightening a cap beneath a plum tree: the movements could resemble reaching for fruit that belongs to someone else.
The idiom condenses the two locations into a warning about appearances and possible misunderstanding. The poem offers hypothetical situations rather than an account of an actual theft. Today 瓜田李下之嫌 often refers to circumstances that could suggest favoritism or impropriety even where wrongdoing has not been established.
Sources and further reading
In everyday life
为避免瓜田李下之嫌，他主动退出了亲属参与的评选。
To avoid the appearance of favoritism, he stepped away from judging a selection involving a relative.
Refers to possible suspicion, not proof of misconduct.