打草惊蛇 dǎ cǎo jīng shé

fig. to inadvertently alert an enemy

Word data

HSK Not in HSK
Frequency 16992nd word

Definitions

  1. 1. fig. to inadvertently alert an enemy
  2. 2. lit. beat the grass to scare the snake (idiom)
  3. 3. to punish sb as a warning to others

Characters

Character Meaning
打 dǎ HSK 1
to hit; to strike; to beat
草 cǎo HSK 3
grass; careless; rough
惊 jīng HSK 4
to be frightened; to be scared; to startle
蛇 shé HSK 5
snake; serpent; variant of 蛇shé