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三令五申

sānlìngwǔshēn
idiom

Meanings

  1. 1 to order again and again (idiom)
  2. 2 to give repeated instructions
  3. 3 to enjoin repeatedly

Examples

老师三令五申，不许在教室里吃东西。
Lǎoshī sānlìngwǔshēn, bùxǔ zài jiàoshì lǐ chī dōngxi.
The teacher has given repeated orders that eating in the classroom is forbidden.
公司三令五申禁止员工迟到。
Gōngsī sānlìngwǔshēn jìnzhǐ yuángōng chídào.
The company has repeatedly forbidden employees from arriving late.
尽管三令五申，还是有人违反规定。
Jǐnguǎn sānlìngwǔshēn, háishì yǒu rén wéifǎn guīdìng.
Despite repeated warnings, some people still break the rules.

Tips

history
From 《史记·孙子吴起列传》: Sun Tzu famously drilled the King of Wu's palace women, giving them his orders 三令五申 (three commands and five explanations) before beheading the ringleaders when they laughed. The phrase came to mean ordering so many times there is no excuse left for disobedience.
register
Typically used by a superior (authority figure, company, government) toward subordinates. Implies that the rule being broken has been made abundantly clear — the speaker is out of patience.

Stroke Order

三 sān
令 lìng
五 wǔ
申 shēn