杀鸡吓猴 — “To punish one individual severely as a warning to others”
杀鸡吓猴 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to punish one individual severely as a warning to others”. To make an example of someone to deter similar behavior from others. Literally, “Kill the chicken to scare the monkey”.
杀鸡吓猴 Pronunciation and Pinyin
杀鸡吓猴 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 杀鸡吓猴
Origin and Story of 杀鸡吓猴
Once upon a time, a monkey trainer bought a disobedient monkey.
The trainer was very angry, so he went to the market and bought a rooster. He continuously beat gongs and drums around the rooster, which terrified it. The trainer then seized the opportunity to kill the rooster with a knife.
The monkey, sitting nearby, was also completely frightened. From then on, whenever the trainer spoke or beat gongs and drums, the monkey would follow his instructions without hesitation.
Idioms Related to 杀鸡吓猴
More idioms starting with 杀
- shā杀yī一lì利bǎi百punish one to warn many
- shā杀yī一lì砺bǎi百punish one to warn many
- shā杀yī一jǐng警bǎi百punish one to warn many
- shā杀rén人bù不yòng用dāo刀destroy reputation without violence
- shā杀rén人bù不zhǎ眨yǎn眼ruthless and merciless killer
- shā杀rén人bù不jiàn见xuè血harm insidiously without trace
- shā杀rén人cháng偿mìng命，，qiàn欠zhài债huán还qián钱Life for a life, debt for a debt
- shā杀rén人jié劫cái财kill people and rob property
- shā杀rén人rú如jiè芥slaughter people like weeds
- shā杀rén人rú如cǎo草slaughter people like grass
- shā杀rén人rú如hāo蒿slaughter people on a massive scale
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Open the tool →Questions about 杀鸡吓猴
What does 杀鸡吓猴 mean?
杀鸡吓猴 (shā jī xià hóu) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to punish one individual severely as a warning to others”.
How do you pronounce 杀鸡吓猴?
杀鸡吓猴 is pronounced shā jī xià hóu in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 杀鸡吓猴 literally mean?
Literally, 杀鸡吓猴 means “Kill the chicken to scare the monkey”. It is used to mean “to punish one individual severely as a warning to others”.
Where does 杀鸡吓猴 come from?
杀鸡吓猴 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to the modern era. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 杀鸡吓猴?
杀鸡给猴子看。比喻用惩罚一个人的办法来警告别的人。