来势汹汹

lái shì xiōng xiōng

to come on with menacing force

Character by character

来lái
coming

势shì
force

汹xiōng
fierce

这波流感来势汹汹，不少学校一个班有一半学生请假。

This flu wave has come on hard; in many schools half a class is off sick.

Tone: neutral.

Said of storms, epidemics and opponents. It often sets up a turn: 对手来势汹汹，但我们早有准备. 汹 is the water character in 汹涌, so do not write 凶凶.

Learn this in Lesson 112 · HSK 7–9: 台风来了 (Typhoon warning: a weather report)

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.