给小鞋穿

給小鞋穿
gěixiǎoxiéchuān
phrase

Meanings

  1. 1 to make things difficult for someone (esp. a subordinate)
  2. 2 to give someone a hard time on purpose
  3. 3 to retaliate with petty harassment

Examples

Dézuì le lǐngdǎo, xiǎoxīn tā gěi nǐ xiǎoxié chuān.
Offend the boss and watch out — he'll find ways to make your life hard.
Tā jùjué jiābān hòu jiù bèi zhǔguǎn gěi xiǎoxié chuān.
After she refused overtime, her manager started giving her a hard time.

Tips

memory
Literally 'to give someone tight shoes to wear' — small shoes pinch every step. Retaliation too petty to call out but impossible to ignore. Often used in passive: 穿小鞋 = 'to be given a hard time.'

Stroke Order

gěi
xiǎo
xié
穿 chuān