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殺雞給猴看

简杀鸡给猴看 · 繁殺雞給猴看

Mandarin · pinyin shā jī gěi hóu kàn

lit. to kill a chicken in front of a monkey; fig. to make an example of sb (by punishment) to frighten others

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Characters in this entry

殺: Look up this written character
雞: jī · chickens; domestic fowl
給: gěi · give; by, for
猴: hóu · monkey, ape; monkey-like
看: kàn · look, see; examine, scrutinize
杀: shā · kill, slaughter, murder; hurt
鸡: jī · chicken
给: gěi · give; by, for

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

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Mandarin tones

1–1–3–2–4 · sha1 ji1 gei3 hou2 kan4

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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.

殺雞給猴看 · find source passages ↗ · 杀鸡给猴看 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

saat3 gai1 kap1 hau4 hon3

Cantonese word readings for 殺雞給猴看. 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 someone; to punish someone as an example to frighten others

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

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