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所向无敌 (suǒ xiàng wú dí) — invincible; unbeatable; without rival

Definition

A classical idiom meaning 'unbeatable wherever one goes' — used for armies, teams, or people who win every contest.

idiom
invincibleunbeatablewithout rival

Examples

  • 所向无敌，。
    Zhè zhī qiú duì suǒ xiàng wú dí, yíng dé le suǒ yǒu bǐ sài.
    This team is invincible and has won all its matches.
  • ，所向无敌，。
    Zài lì shǐ shàng, zhè zhī jūn duì suǒ xiàng wú dí, cóng lái méi yǒu shū guò.
    In history, this army was invincible and never lost.
  • 所向无敌，。
    Tā zài shù xué jìng sài zhōng suǒ xiàng wú dí, měi cì dōu shì dì yī míng.
    He is unbeatable in math competitions and comes first every time.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
主谓zhǔwèiSubject + predicate

A small sentence frozen into a word: something, and what it does or is.

所向direction faced
所suǒplace向xiàngdirection
联合Coordinate
无敌without rival
无wúnot have敌dírival
动宾Verb + object

The 所向, place and direction faced, is 无敌, without any 敌.

Characters in this word

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
斤斤jīnaxe
Sound part声符shēngfú
戶
戶hù所suǒ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

所 pairs 斤, an axe, with 戶, which gives the sound hù; the old meaning was the sound of logging.

Open 所 →

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

向 originally drew 宀 (house) with 口 to show an echo in a place; later it was used for direction.

Open 向 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 無; 无 is its simplified writing.

For the simplified 无, the story is about 無. 無 drew a person dancing with ox tails held in both hands to pray for rain, then was borrowed for 'have no', so the picture does not explain that meaning.

Open 无 →

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 敵; 敌 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
攴攴pūto tap; to hit
Sound part声符shēngfú
啻
啻chì敵dí
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 敵 pairs 啻 as a sound part with 攴, a part for tapping or hitting.

Open 敌 →
Appears in
Idioms & Set PhrasesSuccess & Failure

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