白刀子

báidāozi
noun

Meanings

  1. 1 'white knife' (literal)
  2. 2 knife going in clean, used in the violent idiom 白刀子进红刀子出

Examples

HSK 3
Zhèzhǒng báidāozi jìn hóng dāozi chū dehuà bùnéng suíbiàn shuō.
You can't casually say a thing like 'in clean, out bloody'. It's a real threat.
HSK 5
Tā qì de mà le yí jù " báidāozi jìn hóng dāozi chū! "
He was so angry he spat the phrase 'the knife goes in white, comes out red!'

Tips

register
白刀子 almost never appears on its own. It is part of the set threat 白刀子进,红刀子出 ("the blade goes in white, comes out red," i.e. stabbing someone). This is gangster / jianghu speech found in wuxia novels, crime dramas, and rough arguments. Avoid using it literally; understand it when you hear it.

Stroke Order

bái
dāo