马蜂窝

馬蜂窩

mǎfēngwō

noun #24,410

Measure Word

一个马蜂窝 gè

Meanings

1 hornet's nest
2 wasp nest
3 (figurative) a dangerous situation one has stirred up

Characters

horse (phonetic here)

bee / wasp / hornet

nest / den / lair

Examples

HSK 3

这个问题太复杂了，简直是个马蜂窝。

Zhège wèntí tài fùzá le, jiǎnzhí shì gè mǎfēngwō.

This issue is extremely complex - it's a real hornet's nest.

HSK 7-9

他把马蜂窝捅破了，被蜇了好几下。

Tā bǎ mǎfēngwō tǒng pò le, bèi zhē le hǎojǐ xià.

He poked open the hornet's nest and got stung several times.

HSK 7-9

你这么做是在捅马蜂窝，小心惹麻烦。

Nǐ zhème zuò shì zài tǒng mǎfēngwō, xiǎoxīn rě máfan.

Doing that is like poking a hornet's nest - careful you don't cause trouble.

Tips

usage

The phrase 捅马蜂窝 (to poke a hornet's nest) is a very common idiom meaning to stir up trouble or provoke a dangerous situation - equivalent to the English 'stir up a hornet's nest.'

Stroke Order

马 mǎ

蜂 fēng

窝 wō