殺雞嚇猴 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
殺 shā
to kill; to attack; to weaken or reduce
雞 jī
chicken; fowl; (slang) prostitute
嚇 xià
to scare; to frighten; to scare
猴 hóu HSK 5
monkey