懲一警百 chéng yī jǐng bǎi

DEFINITIONS

  1. lit. punish one, warn one hundred (idiom)
  2. fig. to make an example of sb
  3. also written 懲一儆百|惩一儆百[cheng2 yi1 jing3 bai3]

CHARACTERS

懲 chéng punish, reprimand; warn
一 yī
HSK 1
one; a, an; alone
警 jǐng
HSK 4
guard, watch; alert, alarm
百 bǎi
HSK 2
one hundred; numerous, many