shāng伤injurefēng风custombài败ruinsú俗custom
Offensive to public morals; harmful to social customs; immoral.
Literal meaning
injure (伤) — custom (风) — ruin (败) — custom (俗)
Origin
Describes behavior that is considered harmful or offensive to social customs and morals. A classical four-character phrase.
Examples
zhè这zhǒng种shāng伤fēng风bài败sú俗de的xíng行wéi为yīng应gāi该shòu受dào到qiǎn谴zé责。
This kind of behavior that is offensive to public morals should be condemned.
tā他de的yán言lùn论shāng伤fēng风bài败sú俗,yǐn引qǐ起le了gōng公zhòng众de的qiáng强liè烈bù不mǎn满。
His remarks were harmful to social customs and caused strong public dissatisfaction.
Usage & nuances
Strongly negative, used to condemn immoral or offensive behavior.
Learn idioms by speaking them
Idioms are most useful when they land in a real conversation. Practice them out loud in Kango — get instant feedback on tone and timing.
Download Kango on iOS