打蛇不死，後患無窮 dǎ shé bù sǐ ， hòu huàn wú qióng

If you don't remove threats, trouble returns

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
後 hòu
behind; after; later
患 huàn HSK 6
to suffer (from illness); to contract (a disease); worry
無 wú
not; no; not to have
窮 qióng
poor; destitute; thoroughly