教训 (jiào xùn) — (verb) to lecture, to reprimand, to give a talking-to; (noun) a lesson (from a mistake), a bitter experience
Definition
教训 (jiàoxùn) works as both a verb ('to lecture/reprimand') and a noun ('a lesson from a mistake'). As a noun, it stresses a painful personal takeaway — narrower than the more neutral 启示 ('revelation, moral').
verb
to lectureto reprimandto give a talking-to
noun
a lesson (from a mistake)a bitter experience
Measure word · 番, 顿
Examples
- 教训。Bà ba hěn hěn dì jiào xùn le tā yí dùn.His father gave him a severe talking-to.
- 教训。Zhè cì shī bài duì wǒ men lái shuō shì yí gè shēn kè de jiào xùn.This failure is a profound lesson for us.
- 教训教训。Jīng lǐ zhèng zài jiào xùn nà ge ài jiào xùn rén de xí guàn ràng yuán gōng hěn jǐn zhāng.The manager's habit of lecturing people makes employees very nervous.
Appears in
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