下马威
xià mǎ wēi
Pinyin

Definition

下马威
 - 
xià mǎ wēi
  1. display of severity immediately on taking office
  2. (fig.) initial show of strength

Character Decomposition

Related Words (20)

一下
yī xià
  1. 1 (used after a verb) give it a go
  2. 2 to do (sth for a bit to give it a try)
  3. 3 one time
  4. 4 once
  5. 5 in a while
  6. 6 all of a sudden
  7. 7 all at once
下
xià
  1. 1 down
  2. 2 downwards
  3. 3 below
  4. 4 lower
  5. 5 later
  6. 6 next (week etc)
  7. 7 second (of two parts)
  8. 8 to decline
  9. 9 to go down
  10. 10 to arrive at (a decision, conclusion etc)
  11. 11 measure word to show the frequency of an action
下午
xià wǔ
  1. 1 afternoon
  2. 2 CL:個|个[gè]
  3. 3 p.m.
下载
xià zǎi
  1. 1 to download
  2. 2 also pr. [xià zài]
天下
tiān xià
  1. 1 land under heaven
  2. 2 the whole world
  3. 3 the whole of China
  4. 4 realm
  5. 5 rule
一下子
yī xià zi
  1. 1 in a short while
  2. 2 all at once
  3. 3 all of a sudden
上下
shàng xià
  1. 1 up and down
  2. 2 top and bottom
  3. 3 old and new
  4. 4 length
  5. 5 about
下来
xià lai
  1. 1 to come down
  2. 2 (completed action marker)
  3. 3 (after verb of motion, indicates motion down and towards us, also fig.)
  4. 4 (indicates continuation from the past towards us)
  5. 5 to be harvested (of crops)
  6. 6 to be over (of a period of time)
  7. 7 to go among the masses (said of leaders)
下去
xià qù
  1. 1 to go down
  2. 2 to descend
  3. 3 to go on
  4. 4 to continue
  5. 5 (of a servant) to withdraw
下场
xià chǎng
  1. 1 to leave (the stage, an exam room, the playing field etc)
  2. 2 to take part in some activity
  3. 3 to take an examination (in the imperial examination system)
下属
xià shǔ
  1. 1 subordinate
  2. 2 underling
下巴
xià ba
  1. 1 chin
  2. 2 CL:個|个[gè]
下厨
xià chú
  1. 1 to go to the kitchen (to prepare a meal)
  2. 2 to cook
下手
xià shǒu
  1. 1 to start
  2. 2 to put one's hand to
  3. 3 to set about
  4. 4 the seat to the right of the main guest
下班
xià bān
  1. 1 to finish work
  2. 2 to get off work
下课
xià kè
  1. 1 to finish class
  2. 2 to get out of class
下跌
xià diē
  1. 1 to fall
  2. 2 to tumble
下车
xià chē
  1. 1 to get off or out of (a bus, train, car etc)
下辈子
xià bèi zi
  1. 1 the next life
下酒
xià jiǔ
  1. 1 to be appropriate to have with alcohol
  2. 2 to down one's drink

Idioms (20)

三下两下
sān xià liǎng xià
  1. 1 quickly and effortlessly (idiom)
上下其手
shàng xià qí shǒu
  1. 1 to raise and lower one's hand (idiom); to signal as conspiratorial hint
  2. 2 fig. conspiring to defraud
上有天堂，下有苏杭
shàng yǒu tiān táng , xià yǒu Sū Háng
  1. 1 lit. there is heaven above, and there is 蘇杭|苏杭[Sū Háng] below (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. the beauty and affluence of Suzhou and Hangzhou is comparable with heaven
上有政策，下有对策
shàng yǒu zhèng cè , xià yǒu duì cè
  1. 1 The higher ups have policies while the lower downs have their own ways of getting around them. (idiom)
上有老下有小
shàng yǒu lǎo xià yǒu xiǎo
  1. 1 lit. above are the elderly, below are the young (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. to have to take care of both one's aging parents and one's children
  3. 3 sandwich generation
上梁不正下梁歪
shàng liáng bù zhèng xià liáng wāi
  1. 1 lit. If the upper beam is not straight, the lower beam will be crooked (idiom); fig. subordinates imitate their superiors' vices
上气不接下气
shàng qì bù jiē xià qì
  1. 1 out of breath (idiom)
  2. 2 to gasp for air
上行下效
shàng xíng xià xiào
  1. 1 subordinates follow the example of their superiors (idiom)
不愧下学
bù kuì xià xué
  1. 1 not ashamed to learn from subordinates (idiom)
世风日下
shì fēng rì xià
  1. 1 public morals are degenerating with each passing day (idiom)
干打雷，不下雨
gān dǎ léi , bù xià yǔ
  1. 1 all thunder but no rain (idiom)
  2. 2 a lot of noise but no action
低首下心
dī shǒu xià xīn
  1. 1 to be fawningly submissive (idiom)
作威作福
zuò wēi zuò fú
  1. 1 tyrannical abuse (idiom); riding roughshod over people
先下手为强
xiān xià shǒu wéi qiáng
  1. 1 strike first and gain the upper hand (idiom, martial arts term); Making the first move is an advantage.
兵临城下
bīng lín chéng xià
  1. 1 soldiers at the city walls (idiom); fig. at a critical juncture
包打天下
bāo dǎ tiān xià
  1. 1 to run everything (idiom); to monopolize the whole business
  2. 2 not allow anyone else to have a look in
吴下阿蒙
Wú xià ā Méng
  1. 1 General Lü Meng 呂蒙|吕蒙 of the southern state of Wu (idiom); model of self-improvement by diligent study (from unlettered soldier to top strategist of Wu)
唯恐天下不乱
wéi kǒng tiān xià bù luàn
  1. 1 to wish for the whole world to be in chaos (idiom)
夕阳西下
xī yáng xī xià
  1. 1 the sun sets in the west (idiom)
大树底下好乘凉
dà shù dǐ xià hǎo chéng liáng
  1. 1 lit. under a big tree the shade is plentiful (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. to benefit by proximity to an influential person

Sample Sentences

可能就是因为我太出风头了，才会变成她的眼中钉。刚上任就给我下马威。
kěnéng jiùshì yīnwèi wǒ tài chūfēngtou le ，cái huì biànchéng tā de yǎnzhōngdīng 。gāng shàngrèn jiù gěi wǒ xiàmǎwēi 。
It's probably because I took too much of the spotlight that I became a thorn in her side. She cracked the whip with me right after she took office.
Go to Lesson 
呵呵，看来霹雳是要给你个下马威啊。
hēhē ，kànlai pīlì shì yào gěi nǐ ge xiàmǎwēi a 。
Heh-heh, it looks like Thunderbolt wanted to show you who's boss.
Go to Lesson