泼冷水

pō lěng shuǐ

HSK 3.0 Level 7 Rare

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Definitions

1. (fig.) to dampen sb's enthusiasm

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Word relationships

Antonyms

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• 鼓励 gǔ lì 鼓励 gǔ lì to encourage '泼冷水'是打消热情，'鼓励'则是激发热情: to encourage

Register variants

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• 浇冷水 jiāo lěng shuǐ 浇冷水 jiāo lěng shuǐ fig. to discourage 同义词，可互换，多用于口语: fig. to discourage

Related words

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• 打击 dǎ jī 打击 dǎ jī to hit 都可以表示使别人情绪低落，但'打击'多指对积极性或信心的打击: to hit

Synonyms

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• 扫兴 sǎo xìng 扫兴 sǎo xìng to spoil things; to dampen spirits 两者都指打消别人的兴致，'扫兴'更侧重令人败兴，'泼冷水'侧重泼凉水降温: to spoil things; to dampen spirits

Usage notes

Collocations

常与'被'或'给'连用，如'给他泼冷水'。也可用于抽象事物，如'泼了冷水'。

Common mistakes

勿直译成'pour cold water'；需后接人或事物，表示让某人泄气。常说'给...泼冷水'或'被泼冷水'。

Example Sentences

1 shown

他正高兴，你别 泼冷水 。

He is just getting excited; don't dampen his spirits.

AI-generated examples are marked with this icon.

Child Words of 泼冷水

• 冷水 冷水 lěng shuǐ: unboiled water
• 水 水 shuǐ: water
• 泼 泼 pō: to splash
• 冷 冷 lěng: cold