懲前毖後 chéng qián bì hòu

punish past to prevent future 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