称王称霸

稱王稱霸
chēngwáng-chēngbà
idiom #37,476

Meanings

  1. 1 to lord it over others
  2. 2 to throw one's weight around
  3. 3 to act like a king and overlord
  4. 4 to dominate tyrannically

Examples

HSK 2
Tā zài gōngsī lǐ chēngwángchēngbà, shéi dōu pà tā.
He throws his weight around in the office; everyone is afraid of him.
HSK 4
Jǐ ge dà qǐyè zài zhège hángyè lǐ chēngwángchēngbà.
A few big firms dominate this industry like overlords.

Tips

history
Earliest form 称帝称王 traces to Cao Cao's 让县自明本志令 ('Edict on Returning Counties to Make My True Intentions Clear'): 设使国家无有孤,不知当几人称帝,几人称王 - 'Without me, who knows how many would have proclaimed themselves emperor or king.' The Song poet 汪元量 then used 称王称霸 in 读史 ('Reading History') and the modern form stuck.
register
Always derogatory - describes someone who acts like a tyrant in a small arena (a workplace, neighborhood, school, industry). For an actual ruler dominating a region, (bà) is closer to 'hegemon' than literally 'king.'

Stroke Order

chēng
wáng