含沙射影
hán shā shè yǐng
to attack someone by insinuation
Character by character
含hán
hold in the mouth
hold in the mouth
沙shā
sand
sand
射shè
shoot at
shoot at
影yǐng
shadow
shadow
Example
他那条朋友圈含沙射影，明眼人一看就知道在说谁。
His Moments post was one long veiled dig; anyone could see who it was aimed at.
Tone: negative (criticism).
Usage and origin
From the legend of the 蜮, a water creature said to spit sand at a person’s shadow and make them ill. The online version is 内涵某人.
Learn this in Lesson 111 · HSK 7–9: 绕着说 (Talking around it online)
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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