強龍不壓地頭蛇 qiáng lóng bù yā dì tóu shé

local bully beats outsider; locals have power

Word data

HSK Not in HSK
Frequency Unknown

Definitions

  1. 1. lit. strong dragon cannot repress a snake (idiom); fig. a local gangster who is above the law

Characters

Character Meaning
強 qiáng
strong; powerful; better
龍 lóng
dragon; imperial; surname Long
不 bù HSK 1
not; no; (negative prefix)
壓 yā
to press; pressure; to push down
地 dì HSK 3
ground; land; adverb marker -ly
頭 tóu
head; the top; end
蛇 shé HSK 5
snake; serpent; variant of 蛇shé