放冷箭

fànglěngjiàn

idiom

Meanings

1 to shoot a cold arrow
2 to attack someone in secret
3 to backstab, to snipe from the shadows

Characters

Examples

他表面客气，背后却老放冷箭。

Tā biǎomiàn kèqi, bèihòu què lǎo fàng lěng jiàn.

He's polite to your face, but he's always taking shots behind your back.

开会要当面说，不要事后放冷箭。

Kāihuì yào dāngmiàn shuō, bùyào shìhòu fàng lěng jiàn.

Say it in the meeting — don't snipe afterwards.

网络上放冷箭的人太多了。

Wǎngluò shàng fàng lěng jiàn de rén tài duō le.

There are too many anonymous snipers online.

Tips

memory

A 'cold arrow' is one fired from hiding — you never see it coming. Lu Xun riffed on the phrase in 《无花的蔷薇》: the victim knows he's hit but has no idea where the arrow came from.

Stroke Order

放 fàng

冷 lěng

箭 jiàn