打草惊蛇 — “To act rashly or imprudently”

Q: What is the Chinese definition of 打草惊蛇?

打草惊了草里的蛇。原比喻惩罚了甲而使乙有所警觉。后多比喻做法不谨慎，反使对方有所戒备。

打草惊蛇 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to act rashly or imprudently”. Thereby inadvertently alerting the opponent or target and making them prepared and vigilant. Literally, “Beat the grass to startle the snake”.

Frequency

打草惊蛇 Pronunciation and Pinyin

打草惊蛇 Character Breakdown

Stroke Order

Character	Pinyin	Strokes	Meaning
打	dǎ	5	to hit, strike, or play
草	cǎo	10	grass, straw, draft, rough
惊	jīng	11	startle, alarm, surprise
蛇	shé	11	snake, compliant, tactful

Example Sentence with 打草惊蛇

在采取任何行动之前，我们必须小心谨慎，以免打草惊蛇，让对方有所防备。

Before taking any action, we must be careful not to beat the grass to startle the snake, which would make the other party take precautions.

Origin and Story of 打草惊蛇

During the Tang Dynasty, there was an official named Wang Lu. While serving in the yamen (local government office), he often accepted bribes and disregarded regulations.

One day, someone submitted a petition to the yamen, accusing Wang Lu's subordinates of breaking the law and accepting bribes. Upon reading it, Wang Lu realized that the various accusations described in the petition were exactly like his own usual illegal activities.

Wang Lu trembled as he read the petition, muttering, "This... isn't this talking about me?" The more Wang Lu read, the more frightened he became. He was so flustered that he forgot how to process the petition and instead wrote eight large characters on it: "汝虽打草，吾已蛇惊." (Though you beat the grass, I, the snake, am already startled.) This meant, "Although your action was intended to beat the grass on the ground, I, like a snake hiding in the grass, have been greatly startled by it!"