sung3 joeng4 jap6 fu2 hau2送羊入虎口
Definition
To deliver a vulnerable person into the hands of someone likely to hurt them.
How it's used
This idiom carries a strong sense of impending disaster due to someone's naivety or poor judgment. It is most frequently used to describe a situation where a person is being placed in a position of extreme vulnerability, often by someone else who is oblivious to the danger. Unlike simple warnings, it emphasizes the inevitability of the negative outcome once the person enters the dangerous situation.
Examples
Related words
Common phrases
Common mistake
Learners often use this phrase to describe any dangerous situation, but it specifically requires the element of someone being placed in danger by another person's decision or their own foolishness. It is not used for general hazards like walking in a storm or crossing a busy road.
Grammar color guide
Grammar guides
- LocationHow to say where something is using 喺 (hai2), place words like 度, and the common coverbs that work like English prepositions.
- Serial verbsStringing two or more verbs together without any joining word, like go to the shop buy things. Extremely common in Cantonese.
- 將 disposalHow to move the object in front of the verb with 將, to focus on what happens to it. Common in instructions and writing.
