骨鯁之臣 gǔ gěng zhī chén

upright minister who speaks hard truths

Word data

HSK Not in HSK
Frequency Unknown

Definitions

  1. 1. lit. fish bone of a minister (idiom); fig. person one can rely on for candid criticism

Characters

Character Meaning
骨 gǔ HSK 5
bone
鯁 gěng
to choke on a piece of food
之 zhī HSK 4
(possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的de); it
臣 chén HSK 6
surname Chen; state official or subject in dynastic China