打蛇不死，后患无穷 dǎ shé bù sǐ ， hòu huàn wú qióng

leave enemy alive, trouble never ends

Word data

HSK Not in HSK
Frequency Unknown

Definitions

  1. 1. if you beat the snake without killing it, endless evils will ensue (idiom)

Characters

Character Meaning
打 dǎ HSK 1
to hit; to strike; to beat
蛇 shé HSK 5
snake; serpent; variant of 蛇shé
不 bù HSK 1
not; no; (negative prefix)
死 sǐ HSK 4
to die; extremely; inflexible
后 hòu HSK 1
behind; after; later
患 huàn HSK 6
to suffer (from illness); to contract (a disease); worry
无 wú HSK 4
not; no; not to have
穷 qióng HSK 4
poor; destitute; thoroughly