Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 騙子 / 骗子 | piànzi |
| 作弊者 | zuòbìzhě |
The term is used to describe someone who deceives others or breaks rules. 騙子 / 骗子 is the most common way to call someone a 'fake', a 'fraud' or a 'scammer' in daily conversation. It specifically refers to someone who deceives people through lies or scams.
What does it mean word for word?
The term 作弊者 is composed of 作弊, meaning 'to cheat' and the suffix 者, which denotes a person performing an action, making the literal meaning 'one who performs a cheat'.
Which one should you use?
There is a distinction between the two forms based on the type of cheating. 騙子 / 骗子 is used for a fraud, swindler or liar who deceives people through scams. In contrast, 作弊者 is the technical term for a rule-breaker or someone who cheats in a structured environment, such as an exam or a competition.
How does it change in a sentence?
In the word 骗子, the second character 子 is a neutral tone, meaning it is lightly pronounced when used as a noun suffix.
How do you pronounce it?
piànzi
Did you know?
- While 骗子 describes a swindler, the phrase 出轨 is used for someone who cheats in a romantic relationship. Literally, it means 'to go off the rails' of a train track.
- When people are jokingly accused of 'cheating' or being too good at something, they might use the word 开挂, meaning 'to turn on a cheat code', even in real-life situations.
- In Chinese culture, calling someone a 骗子 in public can be seen as a severe attack on their 'face' or social standing, often leading to more intense confrontations than in the West.
Examples in context
- Tom是个骗子。Tom is a cheater.
- Amy被那个骗子骗了很多钱。Amy was cheated out of a lot of money by that cheater.
- 佢係個詐騙者。He is a cheater.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “cheater” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
