葫芦里卖的是什么药 / 葫蘆裡賣的是什麼藥

hú​lu​lǐ​mài​de​shì​shén​me​yào

what's up one's sleeve

Used as a metaphorical question to ask what someone's hidden intentions or secret plans are.

葫芦 (literal) → 葫芦/葫蘆 · hú​lu · bottle gourd 里 (bound) → 里/裡 · li · in 卖 (literal) → 卖/賣 · mài · to sell 的 (bound) → 的 · de · [focus] 是 (literal) → 是 · shì · [identification] 什么 (literal) → 什么/什麼 · shén​me · what 药 (literal) → 药/藥 · yào · medicine

Changed: simplified, traditional, gloss, definition, pinyin, variant pinyin, variants, separable parts, decomposition

created sense May 20, 2026, 07:58 PM