气势汹汹 (qì shì xiōng xiōng) — aggressive and intimidating in manner; truculent; overbearing

Definition

An idiom describing a person whose manner and presence are fiercely aggressive and intimidating, like storming in to confront someone. Pairs with the adverbial 地 to modify a verb (气势汹汹地说).

idiom
aggressive and intimidating in mannertruculentoverbearing

Examples

  • 气势汹汹，。
    Tā qì shì xiōng xiōng dì zǒu jìn bàn gōng shì, bǎ dà jiā dōu xià huài le.
    He stormed into the office aggressively, scaring everyone.
  • ，气势汹汹。
    Bié bèi tā de yàng zi xià dào, tā zhǐ shì biǎo miàn qì shì xiōng xiōng.
    Don't be scared by his appearance; he's only aggressive on the surface.
  • 气势汹汹，。
    Lǎo bǎn qì shì xiōng xiōng dì pī píng le yuán gōng, qì fen fēi cháng jǐn zhāng.
    The boss criticized the employees aggressively, and the atmosphere was very tense.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 氣; 气 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
米米mǐrice
Sound part声符shēngfú
气
气qì氣qì
Same sound today

The traditional form 氣 pairs 米 (rice) with 气, which supplies the sound; the simplified 气 is a later abbreviation.

Open 气 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 勢; 势 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
力力lìpower
Sound part声符shēngfú
埶
埶yì勢shì
Same sound today

The traditional form 勢 combines 力, meaning power, with 埶 for the sound. The simplified 势 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the original parts.

Open 势 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.