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大动干戈 (dà dòng gān gē) — to go to war; to get into a big conflict or quarrel (often over something minor)

Definition

Literally 'wield weapons on a grand scale'; used for a major conflict, fight, or serious dispute — often (as in the examples) one that's disproportionate to the cause.

idiom
to go to warto get into a big conflict or quarrel (often over something minor)

Examples

  • 大动干戈，。
    Tā men wèi le yì diǎn xiǎo shì jiù dà dòng gān gē, shí zài bù zhí dé.
    They went to war over a small matter; it's really not worth it.
  • 大动干戈，。
    Zhè jiàn shì méi bì yào dà dòng gān gē, dà jiā zuò xià lái hǎo hǎo tán.
    There's no need to get into a big fight over this; everyone sit down and talk it out.
  • 大动干戈，。
    Liǎng guó yīn wèi biān jiè wèn tí dà dòng gān gē, zuì hòu shuí yě méi yíng.
    The two countries went to war over a border issue, and in the end neither side won.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

大动move greatly
大dàgreatly动dòngmove
偏正Modifier + head
干戈weapons
干gānshield戈gēdagger-axe
联合Coordinate

大动 suggests moving greatly or waging, while 干戈 are weapons, so the whole means to go to war or make a big fuss.

Characters in this word

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

The form 大 is a picture of a person standing and facing forward, not of someone stretching their arms.

Open 大 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 動; 动 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
力力lìstrength
Sound part声符shēngfú
重
重zhòng動dòng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 動 uses 力 (strength) and 重 as a sound part; 重 refers to a heavy bag ready to be moved by a human. This note is about 動, not 动.

Open 动 →

The simplified 干 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (饼干, 干杯) it is 乾; in others (干, 干活儿) (干扰) it is 幹 or 干.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 乾; 干 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
乙乙yǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
倝
倝gàn乾gān
Same sound today
Open 干 →

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

戈 is drawn as an ancient dagger-ax with one blade; its long diagonal stroke comes from the weapon's vertical handle.

Open 戈 →
Appears in
Conflict & AgreementIdioms & Set Phrases

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