杀鸡给猴看 in English sha1 ji1 gei3 hou2 kan4 Meaning

Meanings

  • literally (word for word) to kill a chicken in front of a monkey; metaphorically to make an example of somebody (by punishment) to frighten others

Simplified Characters

杀 鸡 给 猴 看

Traditional Characters

殺 雞 給 猴 看

Pinyin

sha1 ji1 gei3 hou2 kan4

Literal

Literal explanation, with pronunciation and meaning of each character.

杀sha1to kill 鸡ji1fowl 给gei3to 猴hou2monkey 看kan4to look after