chī lǐ pá wài: 吃里扒外 - To betray one's own group for personal gain

• Keywords: chī lǐ pá wài, chi li pa wai, 吃里扒外, what does chi li pa wai mean, Chinese idiom for traitor, disloyal Chinese idiom, sell out, backstabber, biting the hand that feeds you, corporate espionage, Chinese culture loyalty, turncoat.
• Summary: The Chinese idiom `吃里扒外` (chī lǐ pá wài) vividly describes a person who betrays their own group—be it a company, family, or team—for personal gain by secretly helping an outsider or competitor. It literally means “to eat from the inside while pulling for the outside,” perfectly capturing the image of a disloyal individual who takes resources from their own people and gives them to a rival. This term is a strong accusation of being a traitor or a sellout, deeply rooted in the cultural importance of group loyalty.

• Pinyin (with tone marks): chī lǐ pá wài
• Part of Speech: Chengyu (四字成语) - a four-character idiom, often used as a verb or adjective.
• HSK Level: N/A
• Concise Definition: To live off of one's own group while secretly helping an outside competitor or enemy.
• In a Nutshell: Imagine someone working in a family bakery. Every day they “eat inside” (`吃里`), enjoying the bread and salary the family provides. But secretly, they are “pulling for the outside” (`扒外`), sneaking recipes and customer lists to the rival bakery across the street. This is the essence of `吃里扒外`. It's a powerful and visceral term for disloyalty and betrayal from within, often translated as being a “turncoat,” “sellout,” or “traitor.”

• 吃 (chī): To eat. This represents taking resources, benefits, or sustenance from a group.
• 里 (lǐ): Inside; within. This refers to one's own group, family, company, or team.
• 扒 (pá): To pull; to push aside; to cling to. In this context, it implies reaching out and actively helping or connecting with an outside party.
• 外 (wài): Outside; external. This refers to the rival, competitor, or opposing group.

Together, the characters create a powerful metaphor: “To eat on the inside while pulling for the outside.” This action is seen as a profound betrayal because the person is simultaneously benefiting from the group's resources while actively undermining it for the benefit of an external party.

The concept of `吃里扒外` is deeply offensive in Chinese culture because it violates the fundamental value of group loyalty. There is often a very clear distinction between insiders (自己人, zìjǐrén - “our own people”) and outsiders (外人, wàirén). Loyalty to one's family, company, and country is paramount, and betraying this trust from within is considered a grave moral failing. A Western concept like “a sellout” or “a traitor” is similar, but `吃里扒外` carries a unique flavor. While “traitor” often implies high-stakes political or military betrayal (treason), `吃里扒外` can be applied to much more common, everyday situations:

• An employee who leaks confidential information to a competitor.
• A family member who consistently sides with their in-laws against their own blood relatives in disputes.
• A friend who shares your secrets with a rival social circle.

The English phrase “to bite the hand that feeds you” captures the ingratitude, but it misses the key element of `吃里扒外`: actively helping an outside party. You aren't just being ungrateful; you are channeling the resources you receive from your group directly to its competitor.

`吃里扒外` is a strong, negative, and accusatory term. It is used in informal and semi-formal contexts to call out perceived disloyalty.

• In Business: This is one of the most common contexts. It's used to describe an employee committing corporate espionage, a manager giving preferential treatment to an external supplier for a kickback, or a partner undermining their own company in a joint venture.
• In Family: It can be used in family arguments, especially concerning in-laws. For example, a mother might accuse her son of `吃里扒外` if he consistently takes his wife's side against her.
• On Social Media: Netizens might use this term to criticize a public figure or company that seems to favor foreign interests over domestic ones, especially during nationalistic debates.
• Among Friends: It can describe a friend who betrays the group's trust for social gain with another circle.

Because it is such a heavy accusation, it's rarely used lightly. To call someone `吃里扒外` is to seriously question their character and loyalty.

• Example 1:
  • 他把公司的机密文件卖给了竞争对手，真是个吃里扒外的家伙！
  • Pinyin: Tā bǎ gōngsī de jīmì wénjiàn mài gěi le jìngzhēng duìshǒu, zhēn shì ge chī lǐ pá wài de jiāhuo!
  • English: He sold the company's confidential documents to a competitor, what a disloyal traitor!
  • Analysis: This is a classic corporate example. The employee (“eats inside” the company) actively helps an outsider (the competitor). “家伙” (jiāhuo) makes the tone very informal and derogatory.
• Example 2:
  • 你怎么老是帮着外人说话？你这是吃里扒外！
  • Pinyin: Nǐ zěnme lǎoshì bāngzhe wàirén shuōhuà? Nǐ zhè shì chī lǐ pá wài!
  • English: Why are you always defending outsiders? You're betraying your own family/group!
  • Analysis: This sentence is typical of a personal or family dispute. “外人” (wàirén - outsider) is directly contrasted with the implied “insider” group, making the accusation very direct.
• Example 3:
  • 我们团队里肯定有吃里扒外的人，不然我们的计划怎么会泄露出去？
  • Pinyin: Wǒmen tuánduì lǐ kěndìng yǒu chī lǐ pá wài de rén, bùrán wǒmen de jìhuà zěnme huì xièlù chūqù?
  • English: There must be a turncoat on our team, otherwise how could our plan have been leaked?
  • Analysis: Here, `吃里扒外` is used as an adjective to describe “人” (rén - person). It's used to hypothesize about the source of a betrayal.
• Example 4:
  • 作为我们家庭的一员，你不应该做吃里扒外的事情。
  • Pinyin: Zuòwéi wǒmen jiātíng de yī yuán, nǐ bù yīnggāi zuò chī lǐ pá wài de shìqing.
  • English: As a member of our family, you shouldn't do things that betray us.
  • Analysis: This is a more formal and cautionary tone. It's used as a warning or a piece of moral advice rather than a direct accusation.
• Example 5:
  • 小心那个经理，我听说他有点吃里扒外，经常把好处给别的部门。
  • Pinyin: Xiǎoxīn nàge jīnglǐ, wǒ tīngshuō tā yǒudiǎn chī lǐ pá wài, jīngcháng bǎ hǎochu gěi biéde bùmén.
  • English: Be careful of that manager; I've heard he tends to favor other departments (at our expense).
  • Analysis: This shows how the “outsider” can even be another department within the same large company. It's about betraying one's immediate team for an external group. “有点” (yǒudiǎn - a bit) softens the accusation slightly.
• Example 6:
  • 我只是提出了一个不同的看法，你不能说我吃里扒外！
  • Pinyin: Wǒ zhǐshì tíchūle yī ge bùtóng de kànfǎ, nǐ bùnéng shuō wǒ chī lǐ pá wài!
  • English: I just offered a different opinion, you can't accuse me of being a traitor!
  • Analysis: This is a defensive sentence, showing how someone might react to being wrongly accused of `吃里扒外`. It highlights the severity of the term.
• Example 7:
  • 在国家利益面前，任何吃里扒外的行为都是不可原谅的。
  • Pinyin: Zài guójiā lìyì miànqián, rènhé chī lǐ pá wài de xíngwéi dōu shì bùkě yuánliàng de.
  • English: In the face of national interests, any act of betraying the country is unforgivable.
  • Analysis: This example elevates the context to the national level. Here, `吃里扒外` is synonymous with treason.
• Example 8:
  • 他拿着我们公司的薪水，却整天为我们竞争对手的项目出谋划策，太吃里扒外了。
  • Pinyin: Tā názhe wǒmen gōngsī de xīnshuǐ, què zhěngtiān wèi wǒmen jìngzhēng duìshǒu de xiàngmù chūmóuhuàcè, tài chī lǐ pá wài le.
  • English: He takes a salary from our company but spends all day planning for our competitor's projects. It's the ultimate betrayal.
  • Analysis: This sentence clearly lays out the two sides of the idiom: taking a salary (“eating inside”) and helping a competitor (“pulling outside”).
• Example 9:
  • 别那么敏感，你儿子娶了媳妇，多关心她一点不叫吃里扒外。
  • Pinyin: Bié nàme mǐngǎn, nǐ érzi qǔle xífu, duō guānxīn tā yīdiǎn bù jiào chī lǐ pá wài.
  • English: Don't be so sensitive. Just because your son married a wife and cares for her a bit more doesn't mean he's betraying you.
  • Analysis: A good example of mediating a family dispute. It shows someone trying to de-escalate a situation by clarifying that a certain behavior does not qualify as `吃里扒外`.
• Example 10:
  • 这个政府官员被发现吃里扒外，收受外国公司的贿赂。
  • Pinyin: Zhège zhèngfǔ guānyuán bèi fāxiàn chī lǐ pá wài, shōushòu wàiguó gōngsī de huìlù.
  • English: This government official was discovered to be a sellout, accepting bribes from foreign companies.
  • Analysis: Here, the official “eats” from the government/taxpayers but “pulls” for the foreign company paying the bribe.

• Mistake: Confusing Disagreement with Betrayal.

A common error for learners is to use `吃里扒外` to describe someone who simply disagrees with the group. This is incorrect. The idiom requires an act of actively helping an external party at the expense of your own.

• Incorrect: 我的同事不同意我的计划，他真是吃里扒外。 (Wǒ de tóngshì bù tóngyì wǒ de jìhuà, tā zhēnshi chī lǐ pá wài.) - My colleague disagrees with my plan, he's such a traitor. (This is wrong.)
• Correct Context: Disagreement is just disagreement. It only becomes `吃里扒外` if that colleague secretly takes your plan and gives it to a rival team to make them look better.
• “False Friend”: `两面派 (liǎngmiànpài)` - Two-faced person.

While both are negative, they are different. A `两面派` is a hypocrite who says one thing to your face and another behind your back. Their goal is self-preservation or personal gain, and they are deceptive to everyone. A `吃里扒外` person has a clear, destructive agenda: they are loyal to an outside group and actively work to benefit that group by harming their own. The betrayal is targeted and has an external beneficiary.

• 内奸 (nèijiān) - A mole, a spy, an inside agent. More formal than `吃里扒外` and specifically implies a planned, secret role of espionage.
• 叛徒 (pàntú) - A traitor, renegade. A very strong and formal term, often used for betrayal of a country, political party, or a major cause.
• 卖国贼 (màiguózéi) - “Country-selling thief.” The most severe term for a traitor who betrays their own nation.
• 胳膊肘往外拐 (gēbozhǒu wǎng wài guǎi) - “The elbow bends outwards.” A very common and colloquial saying with a similar meaning. It describes someone who sides with an outsider over their own people, but it's often less severe and more like a gentle complaint than a harsh accusation.
• 自己人 (zìjǐrén) - “One's own people.” The concept of the in-group that a `吃里扒外` person betrays. Understanding this concept is key to understanding Chinese social dynamics.
• 忘恩负义 (wàng'ēnfùyì) - To forget kindness and betray trust; ungrateful. This focuses on the ingratitude of the betrayal. Someone can be `忘恩负义` without necessarily helping an outsider, whereas helping an outsider is central to `吃里扒外`.
• 墙头草 (qiángtóucǎo) - “Grass on top of a wall.” Refers to an opportunist who sways with the wind, siding with whoever is strongest. They lack loyalty, but they don't necessarily betray their own group to help another specific group.