官不威，爪牙威 — “The official is not awe-inspiring, but their henchmen are formidable”
官不威，爪牙威 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “Even if the principal official lacks personal authority or is not overly imposing, their subordinates often abuse their delegated power and act arrogantly to intimidate others”. Literally, “The official is not awe-inspiring, but their henchmen are formidable”.
官不威，爪牙威 Pronunciation and Pinyin
官不威，爪牙威 Character Breakdown
Example Sentence with 官不威，爪牙威
Idioms Related to 官不威，爪牙威
Synonyms of 官不威，爪牙威
More idioms starting with 官
- guān官shì事guān官bàn办handle official matters by the book
- guān官cāng仓lǎo老shǔ鼠Corrupt official abusing power for personal gain
- guān官bī偪mín民fǎn反Oppression forces people to rebel
- guān官liáo僚zhǔ主yì义excessive adherence to rules and formalities
- guān官bēi卑zhí职xiǎo小low-ranking official with little power
- guān官chǎng场rú如xì戏Officialdom is like a theatrical play
- guān官fù复yuán原zhí职reinstated to former office
- guān官guān官xiāng相wéi为officials protect each other
- guān官guān官xiāng相wèi卫Officials collude to protect each other
- guān官guān官xiāng相hù护officials shielding each other
- guān官qíng情zhǐ纸báo薄Official relationships are superficial and fragile
Recommended tools
Character Highlight Animator
Choose character parts and animate their colors, together or in stroke order
Open the tool →
Writing Worksheets
Printable tracing sheets with a QR learning companion
Open the tool →
Bingo Cards
Picture and word Bingo for your class
Open the tool →
Chinese Text Image Generator
Create PNGs with pinyin, highlight character parts or remove strokes
Open the tool →Questions about 官不威，爪牙威
What does 官不威，爪牙威 mean?
官不威，爪牙威 (guān bù wēi ， zhǎo yá wēi) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “Even if the principal official lacks personal authority or is not overly imposing, their subordinates often abuse their delegated power and act arrogantly to intimidate others”.
How do you pronounce 官不威，爪牙威?
官不威，爪牙威 is pronounced guān bù wēi ， zhǎo yá wēi in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 官不威，爪牙威 literally mean?
Literally, 官不威，爪牙威 means “the official is not awe-inspiring, but their henchmen are formidable”. It is used to mean “Even if the principal official lacks personal authority or is not overly imposing, their subordinates often abuse their delegated power and act arrogantly to intimidate others”.
What is the Chinese definition of 官不威，爪牙威?
爪牙：比喻辅佐的人。指官员未必威风凶悍，手下人则仗势逞威耍狂