小作怡情,大作傷身

简 小作怡情,大作伤身 · 繁 小作怡情,大作傷身
Mandarin · pinyin xiǎo zuō yí qíng , dà zuō shāng shēn

Meanings

  1. an occasional display of histrionics can add a playful element to a relationship, but overdoing it can lead to a breakup (admonishment derived from the saying 小酌怡情,大酌傷身 xiǎo zhuó yí qíng, dà zhuó shāng shēn)
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Characters in this entry

小
xiǎo · small, tiny, insignificant
作
zuò · make; work; compose, write; act, perform
怡
yí · harmony; pleasure, joy; be glad
情
qíng · feeling, sentiment, emotion
大
dà · big, great, vast, large, high
傷
shāng · wound, injury; fall ill from
身
shēn · body; trunk, hull; Kangxi radical 158
伤
shāng · wound, injury; fall ill from
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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小作怡情,大作傷身 · xiao3 zuo1 yi2 qing2 , da4 zuo1 shang1 shen1
CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG · edition 2026-10-13 · source line 34,418
Original dictionary · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source & transformation details
Exact source record小作怡情,大作傷身 小作怡情,大作伤身 [xiao3 zuo1 yi2 qing2 , da4 zuo1 shang1 shen1] /an occasional display of histrionics can add a playful element to a relationship, but overdoing it can lead to a breakup (admonishment derived from the saying 小酌怡情,大酌傷身|小酌怡情,大酌伤身[xiao3 zhuo2 yi2 qing2 , da4 zhuo2 shang1 shen1])/