惩前毖后 chéng qián bì hòu

punish past to warn future; learn from mistakes

Word data

HSK Not in HSK
Frequency Unknown

Definitions

  1. 1. lit. to punish those before to prevent those after (idiom); to criticize former mistakes firmly to prevent them happening again

Characters

Character Meaning
to punish; to reprimand; to warn
front; before; forward
careful; to prevent
behind; after; later