泼冷水 (潑冷水)
pō lěng shuǐ
Pinyin

Definition

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

Character Decomposition

Related Words (20)

冷
Lěng
  1. 1 surname Leng
寒冷
hán lěng
  1. 1 cold (climate)
  2. 2 frigid
  3. 3 very cold
水
Shuǐ
  1. 1 surname Shui
水平
shuǐ píng
  1. 1 level (of achievement etc)
  2. 2 standard
  3. 3 horizontal
水果
shuǐ guǒ
  1. 1 fruit
  2. 2 classifier: 个 gè

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

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.
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