学华语Learn Chinese with BaoOpen the course

狗急跳墙

gǒu jí tiào qiáng

a cornered person will do something desperate

Character by character

狗gǒu
dog
急jí
desperate
跳tiào
jumps
墙qiáng
wall

Example

别把他逼急了,小心他狗急跳墙。
Don't push him too far, or he might do something desperate.

Tone: negative (criticism).

Usage and origin

Insulting: it compares the person to a dog.

Learn it in context
This idiom and thousands more are in Learn Chinese with Bao, with audio, pinyin and drills that make them stick.
Start the course free →