不攻自破 (bù gōng zì pò) — to collapse of its own accord; to be self-defea…

Definition

A chengyu meaning a claim or argument 'collapses on its own' once examined — no counter-attack needed because the flaws are obvious.

idiom

to collapse of its own accordto be self-defeating (of claims, arguments, etc.)

不攻自破。
Tā de huǎng yán hěn kuài jiù bù gōng zì pò le.
His lies soon fell apart on their own.
，不攻自破。
Zhè ge lǐ lùn lòu dòng bǎi chū, gēn běn bù gōng zì pò.
This theory is full of holes; it collapses on its own.
不攻自破。
Duì fāng de zhǐ kòng yīn wèi méi yǒu zhèng jù ér bù gōng zì pò.
The other party's accusation fell apart because there was no evidence.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The picture in 不 originally showed a flower’s calyx; the “no” sense came later from a related character, not from this picture.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

工攵攻

Meaning part形符xíngfú

攵Written in full as攴pūhand holding a tool or weapon

Sound part声符shēngfú

工

Same sound today

攻 puts 工, which gives the pronunciation, beside 攵, a hand holding a tool or weapon.

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

假借jiǎjièLater borrowed for its sound alone — the picture has nothing to do with today’s meaning.

自 originally drew a nose. It was borrowed purely for its sound to write 自, so the picture and the meaning are unrelated.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

石皮破

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

皮

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

破 has 石 (stone) as its meaning part and 皮 as its sound part.