当头棒喝
dāng​tóu​bàng​hè

a sharp warning

  • created sense approved 当头棒喝/當頭棒喝 · dāng​tóu​bàng​hè · a sharp warning — "Initial import from upstream dictionary"

    当头棒喝 / 當頭棒喝

    dāng​tóu​bàng​hè

    a sharp warning

    a blow to the head and a loud shout; originally a Zen Buddhist practice to jolt students into enlightenment, now used to describe a sharp warning or a stunning blow that makes someone wake up to reality

    当头 (literal) → 当头/當頭 · dāng​tóu · head-on 棒喝 (literal) → 棒喝 · bàng​hè · Buddhist awakening practice

    Changed: simplified, traditional, gloss, definition, pinyin, variant pinyin, variants, separable parts, decomposition

    created sense