仗势欺人 (zhàng shì qī rén) — to bully others by relying on one's power or influence; to throw one's weight around
Definition
An idiom meaning to bully people by leveraging one's own or someone else's power or status. Stronger than simply 'being mean' — the focus is the abuse of authority behind it.
idiom
to bully others by relying on one's power or influenceto throw one's weight around
Examples
- 仗势欺人，。Nà ge guān yuán lì yòng zhí quán zhàng shì qī rén, zuì zhōng bèi diào chá le.That official used his authority to bully others and was eventually investigated.
- 仗势欺人，。Xué xiào lǐ yǒu xiē gāo nián jí xué shēng zhàng shì qī rén, qī fu dī nián jí tóng xué.Some upperclassmen at school throw their weight around and bully younger students.
- 仗势欺人，。Tā zhàng zhe fù qīn de quán shì zhàng shì qī rén, dà jiā dōu gǎn nù bù gǎn yán.He relies on his father's power to bully others; everyone is angry but dares not speak up.
Origin
Compound word构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head
The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.
“仗势” (rely on power) and “欺人” (bully people) combine as bullying by relying on power.
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