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同归于尽 (tóng guī yú jìn) — to perish together, to end in mutual destruction

Definition

A chengyu meaning both sides die or are destroyed together — no one survives. Used for mutual destruction in war, conflict, or desperate last stands.

idiom
to perish togetherto end in mutual destruction

Examples

  • ，同归于尽。
    Dí rén zǒu tóu wú lù, zuì hòu xuǎn zé le tóng guī yú jìn.
    The enemy had no way out and finally chose to perish together.
  • 同归于尽，。
    Zhè chǎng zhàn zhēng ràng shuāng fāng tóng guī yú jìn, méi yǒu yíng jiā.
    This war caused both sides to perish together; there were no winners.
  • 同归于尽，。
    Tā men nìng yuàn tóng guī yú jìn, yě bú xiàng duì fāng tóu xiáng.
    They would rather perish together than surrender to each other.

Origin

Characters in this word

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

同 originally drew a pipe. It is the old form of 筒.

Open 同 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 歸; 归 is its simplified writing.

  • 𠂤𠂤𠂤ancient form of {{zh-l|*師|troops}}
  • 帚帚zhǒubroom; sweep

The traditional form 歸 combines 𠂤 (troops) and 帚 (broom; sweep) to show sweeping away an enemy and returning; the simplified 归 is a later abbreviation.

Open 归 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

  • 一一yīflat stream of air
  • 丂丂kǎoto exhale

The old shape of 于 may have pictured an ancient wind instrument. Another explanation reads 一 as a flat stream of air and 丂 as an exhaling mark.

Open 于 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 盡; 尽 is its simplified writing.

  • 聿聿yùhand holding a brush
  • 灬灬huǒbristles
  • 皿皿mǐndish

The traditional form 盡 shows 聿 (hand holding a brush) and 灬 (bristles) over 皿 (dish), cleaning a dish until it is empty. The simplified 尽 is a shorthand, not those historical parts.

Open 尽 →
Appears in
Conflict & AgreementIdioms & Set Phrases

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