泼冷水 pō lěng shuǐ

fig. to dampen one's enthusiasm; lit. to pour cold water on

Word data

HSK Not in HSK
Frequency 24734th word

Definitions

  1. 1. fig. to dampen one's enthusiasm
  2. 2. lit. to pour cold water on

Characters

Character Meaning
泼 pō HSK 4
to splash; to spill; rough and coarse
冷 lěng HSK 1
cold; surname Leng
水 shuǐ HSK 1
water; liquid; beverage