我是担心他们醉翁之意不在酒
“I'm worried they have ulterior motives.”
THE DIALOGUE REEL
你是担心啊
“Are you worried?”
我是 担心 他们 醉翁之意不在酒
“I'm worried they have ulterior motives.”
我之前虽然和沈星谈恋爱
“Although I was dating Shen Xing,”
“They have an ulterior motive here; whatever they claim they want is just a cover.”
Originating from Ouyang Xiu's Song dynasty prose, this idiom is the quintessential Chinese phrase to suspect hidden, self-serving agendas beneath apparent courtesy.
LEARNING CHUNKS & PARTICLES
having an ulterior motive / having fish of one's own to fry
A famous classical idiom widely used in daily conversation to warn that someone's real interest lies elsewhere.
What I'm worried about is...
Used to frame your central concern gently but seriously in conversation.
VOCABULARY & EXPRESSIONS
Parallel Spoken Cinema Scenes (语义近邻切片)
“Seems like he's got other things in mind.”
“I don't have a problem with the wine.”
“somebody boldly slipped drugs in my drink.”
“Why is he sitting down for a drink now?”
“No wonder you didn't let me drink.”
“No need to do all that. He wouldn't care. As long as there's alcohol, he's fine.”