水清无鱼 shuǐ qīng wú yú

fig. one who is too severe has no friends

Word data

HSK Not in HSK
Frequency Unknown

Definitions

  1. 1. fig. one who is too severe has no friends
  2. 2. lit. water that is too clean holds no fish (idiom)

Characters

Character Meaning
water; liquid; beverage
clear; distinct; pure
not; no; not to have
fish; surname Yu