杀鸡吓猴 shā jī xià hóu

punish one to warn others

Word data

HSK Not in HSK
Frequency Unknown

Definitions

  1. 1. lit. killing the chicken to scare the monkey (idiom); to punish an individual as an example to others
  2. 2. pour encourager les autres

Characters

Character Meaning
杀 shā HSK 5
to kill; to attack; to weaken or reduce
鸡 jī HSK 2
chicken; fowl; (slang) prostitute
吓 xià HSK 5
to scare; to frighten; to scare
猴 hóu HSK 5
monkey