河东狮吼
hé dōng shī hǒu
a fierce, jealous wife raging at her husband
Character by character
河hé
river
river
东dōng
east
east
狮shī
lion
lion
吼hǒu
roar
roar
Example
他在外面说话挺大声，一回家听见河东狮吼，马上就老实了。
He talks big when he’s out, but the moment he gets home and hears the lioness roar, he behaves himself.
Tone: negative (criticism).
Usage and origin
A joke of 苏轼’s, in a poem to a friend, at the expense of 陈季常, his close companion in the 黄州 years, who loved to talk Buddhism and entertain guests till his wife lost her temper: 忽闻河东狮子吼. 狮子吼, the lion’s roar, is a Buddhist image for the Buddha’s preaching, and 河东 points to her clan, the 柳 of 河东. For banter only: calling a real woman this is rude.
Learn this in Lesson 92 · HSK 6–7: 苏东坡的宋朝 (Su Dongpo’s Song dynasty)
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.
Open the lesson →