殺雞給猴看 shā jī gěi hóu kàn

punish one to warn others

Word data

HSK Not in HSK
Frequency Unknown

Definitions

  1. 1. lit. to kill a chicken in front of a monkey; fig. to make an example of sb (by punishment) to frighten others

Characters

Character Meaning
殺 shā
to kill; to attack; to weaken or reduce
雞 jī
chicken; fowl; (slang) prostitute
給 gěi
to; for; to give
猴 hóu HSK 5
monkey
看 kàn HSK 1
to see; to look at; to watch