招兵买马 (zhāo bīng mǎi mǎ) — to recruit new members; to build up a team (idiom)

Definition

Idiom meaning to recruit people and gather resources for a new venture or team expansion. Originally military ('raise troops, buy horses'), now used widely for businesses, startups, and organizations building a workforce.

idiom
to recruit new membersto build up a team (idiom)

Examples

  • 招兵买马，。
    Zhè jiā gōng sī zhèng zài zhāo bīng mǎi mǎ, zhǔn bèi kuò dà yè wù.
    This company is recruiting new members, preparing to expand its business.
  • ，招兵买马，。
    Xīn jiào liàn shàng rèn hòu, kāi shǐ zhāo bīng mǎi mǎ, zǔ jiàn gèng qiáng de duì wu.
    After the new coach took office, he began recruiting to build a stronger team.
  • ，招兵买马，。
    Chuàng yè chū qī, tā men dào chù zhāo bīng mǎi mǎ, xī yǐn yōu xiù rén cái.
    In the early days of the startup, they recruited everywhere to attract outstanding talent.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

招兵recruit soldiers
招zhāorecruit兵bīngsoldiers
动宾Verb + object
买马buy horses
买mǎibuy马mǎhorses
动宾Verb + object

招兵 and 买马 parallel actions of recruiting soldiers and buying horses, giving the idea of building up forces or a team.

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
扌Written in full as手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
召
召zhào招zhāo
Same sound today

招 pairs 扌, the hand part, with 召, which gives the sound, to show beckoning with the hand.

Open 招 →

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

  • 斤斤jīna short axe
  • 廾廾gǒng2 hands

兵 combines 斤, a short axe, with 廾, two hands, showing a pair of hands holding a weapon.

Open 兵 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 買; 买 is its simplified writing.

In the traditional form 買, 网 is a net and 貝 is a money cowrie.

Open 买 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 馬; 马 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 馬 shows a horse with its head facing left, a flowing mane, and two legs standing vertically.

Open 马 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.