泼冷水
pō lěng shuǐ
Pinyin

Definition

泼冷水
 - 
pō lěng shuǐ
  1. lit. to pour cold water on
  2. fig. to dampen one's enthusiasm

Character Decomposition

Related Words (20)

Lěng
  1. 1 surname Leng
hán lěng
  1. 1 cold (climate)
  2. 2 frigid
  3. 3 very cold
Shuǐ
  1. 1 surname Shui
shuǐ píng
  1. 1 level (of achievement etc)
  2. 2 standard
  3. 3 horizontal
shuǐ guǒ
  1. 1 fruit
  2. 2 CL:個|个[gè]
Shuǐ píng zuò
  1. 1 Aquarius (constellation and sign of the zodiac)
yī tóu wù shuǐ
  1. 1 to be confused
  2. 2 to be baffled
xià shuǐ
  1. 1 downstream
  2. 2 to go into the water
  3. 3 to put into water
  4. 4 to launch (a ship)
  5. 5 fig. to fall into bad ways
  6. 6 to lead astray
  7. 7 to go to pot
xià shuǐ dào
  1. 1 sewer
bīng lěng
  1. 1 ice-cold
bīng shuǐ
  1. 1 iced water
lěng lěng
  1. 1 coldly
lěng lěng qīng qīng
  1. 1 deserted
  2. 2 desolate
  3. 3 unfrequented
  4. 4 cold and cheerless
  5. 5 lonely
  6. 6 in quiet isolation
lěng dòng
  1. 1 to freeze
  2. 2 to deep-freeze
lěng què
  1. 1 to cool off
  2. 2 cooling
lěng chǎng
  1. 1 stage wait
  2. 2 (fig.) awkward silence
lěng tiān
  1. 1 cold weather
  2. 2 cold season
Lěng zhàn
  1. 1 (US-Soviet) Cold War
lěng nuǎn
  1. 1 lit. daily changes of temperature
  2. 2 fig. well-being
  3. 3 sb's comfort, health, prosperity etc
lěng nuǎn zì zhī
  1. 1 see 如人飲水,冷暖自知|如人饮水,冷暖自知[rú rén yǐn shuǐ , lěng nuǎn zì zhī]

Idioms (20)

一清如水
yī qīng rú shuǐ
  1. 1 lit. as clear as water (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. (of officials etc) honest and incorruptible
一碗水端平
yī wǎn shuǐ duān píng
  1. 1 lit. to hold a bowl of water level (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. to be impartial
一点水一个泡
yī diǎn shuǐ yī gè pào
  1. 1 honest and trustworthy (idiom)
三个和尚没水喝
sān gè hé shang méi shuǐ hē
  1. 1 lit. three monks have no water to drink (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. everybody's business is nobody's business
  3. 3 (If there is one monk, he will fetch water for himself. If there are two, they will fetch water together. But if there are three or more, none will take it upon himself to fetch water.)
不显山不露水
bù xiǎn shān bù lù shuǐ
  1. 1 lit. to not show the mountain and to not reveal the water (idiom); fig. to hide the key facts
人不可貌相,海水不可斗量
rén bù kě mào xiàng , hǎi shuǐ bù kě dǒu liáng
  1. 1 you can't judge a person by appearance, just as you can't measure the sea with a pint pot (idiom)
人往高处走,水往低处流
rén wǎng gāo chù zǒu , shuǐ wǎng dī chù liú
  1. 1 man seeks his way up just as water seeks its way down (idiom)
  2. 2 one should constantly strive to make progress
似水年华
sì shuǐ nián huá
  1. 1 fleeting years (idiom)
兵来将挡,水来土掩
bīng lái jiàng dǎng , shuǐ lái tǔ yǎn
  1. 1 counter soldiers with arms, water with an earth weir (idiom); different situations call for different action
  2. 2 to adopt measures appropriate to the actual situation
兵来将敌,水来土堰
bīng lái jiàng dí , shuǐ lái tǔ yàn
  1. 1 counter soldiers with arms, water with an earth weir (idiom); different situations call for different action
  2. 2 to adopt measures appropriate to the actual situation
冰炭不言,冷热自明
bīng tàn bù yán , lěng rè zì míng
  1. 1 ice or coals, whether hot or cold goes without saying (idiom); fig. sincerity is not expressed in words
冷嘲热讽
lěng cháo rè fěng
  1. 1 frigid irony and scorching satire (idiom); to mock and ridicule
冷若冰霜
lěng ruò bīng shuāng
  1. 1 as cold as ice and frost (idiom, usually of woman); icy manner
  2. 2 frigid
冷言冷语
lěng yán lěng yǔ
  1. 1 sarcastic comments (idiom)
  2. 2 to make sarcastic comments
冷语冰人
lěng yǔ bīng rén
  1. 1 to offend people with unkind remarks (idiom)
出水芙蓉
chū shuǐ fú róng
  1. 1 as a lotus flower breaking the surface (idiom); surpassingly beautiful (of young lady's face or old gentleman's calligraphy)
十指不沾阳春水
shí zhǐ bù zhān yáng chūn shuǐ
  1. 1 to have no need to fend for oneself (idiom)
  2. 2 to lead a pampered life
半瓶水响叮当
bàn píng shuǐ xiǎng dīng dāng
  1. 1 lit. if you tap a half-empty bottle it makes a sound (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. empty vessels make the most noise
  3. 3 one who has a little knowledge likes to show off, but one who is truly knowledgeable is modest
吃水不忘掘井人
chī shuǐ bù wàng jué jǐng rén
  1. 1 Drinking the water of a well, one should never forget who dug it. (idiom)
君子之交淡如水
jūn zǐ zhī jiāo dàn rú shuǐ
  1. 1 a gentleman's friendship, insipid as water (idiom, from Zhuangzi 莊子|庄子[Zhuāng zǐ])

Sample Sentences

晕,怎么这么说我们?我这次是一定说到做到。去年是没有意识到问题的严重性,可今年不一样了。学好了英语,不知道有多少好机会等着我呢!你嘛,只会泼冷水,你倒说说看你有什么计划?
yūn ,zěnme zhème shuō wǒmen ?wǒ zhècì shì yīdìng shuōdào zuòdào 。qùnián shì méiyǒu yìshidào wèntí de yánzhòngxìng ,kě jīnnián bùyīyàng le 。xuéhǎo le Yīngyǔ ,bù zhīdào yǒu duōshao hǎo jīhuì děng zhe wǒ ne !nǐ ma ,zhǐ huì pōlěngshuǐ ,nǐ dào shuōshuo kàn nǐ yǒu shénme jìhuà ?
Hey, how can you say that about us? This time I’m really going to follow through on what I say. Last year it was that I wasn’t aware of the seriousness of the problem. But this year it’s different. Once I’ve learned English, who knows how many good opportunities will be waiting for me. You’re just bashing our ideas. Why don’t you tell us what plans do you have then?
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可你也别光泼冷水,有空帮我多留意一下吧。
kě nǐ yě bié guāng pō lěngshuǐ ,yǒukòng bāng wǒ duō liúyì yīxià ba 。
But don't be such a downer. If you have the time, help me keep an eye out for him.
Go to Lesson