大煞风景
dà shā fēng jǐng
to spoil the fun; to ruin a fine scene
Character by character
大dà
greatly
greatly
煞shā
kill
kill
风fēng
wind
wind
景jǐng
view
view
Example
好好的野餐，突然下起了大雨，真是大煞风景。
A perfectly good picnic, and then it suddenly poured with rain. What a let-down.
Tone: negative (criticism).
Usage and origin
Also 煞风景 or 杀风景. The miscellany 《义山杂纂》, traditionally credited to the Tang poet 李商隐, lists things that 杀风景: washing your feet in a clear spring, drying your trousers under the flowers, building a tower that blocks the view of the hills. Said of an event, a sight or a remark that spoils the mood: 说这种话太煞风景了.
Learn this in Lesson 144 · HSK 7–9: 露营热 (The outdoor boom)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
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