DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

懲前毖後

简惩前毖后 · 繁懲前毖後

Mandarin · pinyin chéng qián bì hòu

lit. to punish those before to prevent those after (idiom); to criticize former mistakes firmly to prevent them happening again

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

懲: Look up this written character
前: qián · in front, forward; preceding
毖: bì · guard against, take care; caution
後: hòu · behind, rear, after; descendents
惩: chéng · punish, reprimand; warn
后: hòu · queen, empress, sovereign; (simp. for 後) behind, rear, after

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

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

2–2–4–4 · cheng2 qian2 bi4 hou4

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

5character links

Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗

Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

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.

懲前毖後 · find source passages ↗ · 惩前毖后 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Rime · Wiktionary

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

cing4 cin4 bei3 hau6

Cantonese word readings for 懲前毖後. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

phrase

(idiomatic) to criticize former mistakes firmly to prevent them happening again

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

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack