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懲一儆百

简惩一儆百 · 繁懲一儆百

Mandarin · pinyin chéng yī jǐng bǎi

lit. punish one to warn one hundred (idiom)
fig. to make an example of sb

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Characters in this entry

懲: Look up this written character
一: yī · one; a, an; alone
儆: jǐng · warn; warning
百: bǎi · one hundred; numerous, many
惩: chéng · punish, reprimand; warn

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

2–1–3–3 · cheng2 yi1 jing3 bai3

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Connected dictionary

4character links1same-tone record

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

懲一儆百 · find source passages ↗ · 惩一儆百 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

cing4 jat1 ging2 baak3

Cantonese word readings for 懲一儆百. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(idiomatic) to make an example of somebody

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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