oppress; bully; victimize
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 4 examplesverb
to oppress; to bully; to treat cruelly; to victimize
formalDerived from the classical idiom "人为刀俎，我为鱼肉" (people are the knife and cutting board, I am the fish and meat) from the Records of the Grand Historian, meaning to treat people as helpless victims to be slaughtered and consumed.
Tǔ土
háo豪
héng横
xíng行
xiāng乡
lǐ里
，
yú鱼
ròu肉
bǎi百
xìng姓
。
The local tyrants ran rampant through the countryside, oppressing the common people.
Zhè这
xiē些
tān贪
guān官
yú鱼
ròu肉
rén人
mín民
，
zhōng中
bǎo饱
sī私
náng囊
。
These corrupt officials exploited the people to fill their own pockets.
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Tā他
zhàng仗
zhe着
fù父
qīn亲
de的
shì势
lì力
zài在
dì地
fāng方
shàng上
yú鱼
ròu肉
xiāng乡
lǐ里
。
Relying on his father's power, he bullied the local villagers.
Zài在
nà那
gè个
hēi黑
àn暗
de的
shí时
dài代
，
lǎo老
bǎi百
xìng姓
zhǐ只
néng能
rèn任
rén人
yú鱼
ròu肉
。
In that dark era, common folk could only allow themselves to be victimized by others.