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打草惊蛇 (dǎ cǎo jīng shé) — to inadvertently alert an enemy or opponent (by acting prematurely); to punish someone as a warning to others

Definition

A chengyu meaning to alert the enemy by acting prematurely — 'stir up the grass and scare the snake.' It warns against rash moves that give away your plan. The secondary 'punish one to warn others' sense is unrelated and best learned later.

idiom
to inadvertently alert an enemy or opponent (by acting prematurely)to punish someone as a warning to others

Examples

  • ，打草惊蛇。
    Jǐng fāng jué dìng zàn shí bù xíng dòng, yǐ miǎn dǎ cǎo jīng shé.
    The police decided not to act for now, so as not to alert the suspects prematurely.
  • ，打草惊蛇，。
    Tā zhè cì yán lì chǔ fèn le yí gè wéi guī yuán gōng, mù dì shì dǎ cǎo jīng shé, jǐng shì qí tā rén.
    He severely punished one violator this time, aiming to serve as a warning to others.
  • 打草惊蛇，。
    Zài diào chá jiē duàn qiān wàn bù néng dǎ cǎo jīng shé, fǒu zé zuì fàn huì huǐ miè zhèng jù.
    During the investigation, you must not alert the criminal; otherwise they will destroy the evidence.

Origin

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
扌Written in full as手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
丁
丁dīng打dǎ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

打 uses 扌, a hand, to show an action done with the hand, and 丁 to give the sound.

Open 打 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
艹Written in full as艸cǎograss; plant
Sound part声符shēngfú
早
早zǎo草cǎo
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

草 pairs 艹 (grass; plant) with 早, which gives the sound. The form originally referred to another word and was later used for the grass sense.

Open 草 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
忄Written in full as心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
京
京jīng惊jīng
Same sound today

惊 is made from 忄 (heart) and 京, which gives the sound.

Open 惊 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
虫虫chóng
Sound part声符shēngfú
它
它tā蛇shé
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

蛇 combines 虫 with 它; 它 gives the sound and was also the original form of this character.

Open 蛇 →
Appears in
Idioms & Set Phrases

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