喧宾夺主

喧賓奪主

xuānbīn-duózhǔ

idiom #45,005

Meanings

1 for the guest to upstage the host
2 for a secondary element to overshadow the main one
3 to steal the spotlight

Characters

Examples

HSK 5

装饰不能喧宾夺主，影响主题。

Zhuāngshì bùnéng xuānbīnduózhǔ, yǐngxiǎng zhǔtí.

Decorations shouldn't overshadow and detract from the main theme.

HSK 6

配乐太大声了，有点喧宾夺主。

Pèiyuè tài dàshēng le, yǒudiǎn xuānbīnduózhǔ.

The background music is too loud - it's upstaging everything else.

HSK 7-9

副歌写得比主歌好，有点喧宾夺主的感觉。

Fùgē xiě de bǐ zhǔgē hǎo, yǒudiǎn xuānbīnduózhǔ de gǎnjué.

The chorus is written better than the verse - it feels like the guest upstaging the host.

Tips

memory

Literally: 'loud guest snatches the host's place.' Great for critiquing design, music mixing, public speaking, or anything where the background overtakes the foreground.

Stroke Order

喧 xuān

宾 bīn

夺 duó

主 zhǔ