苦肉计 (kǔ ròu jì) — confidence game; feigning self-sacrifice to win trust

Definition

苦肉计 is a 36-strategy term for a tactic where you pretend to hurt or sacrifice yourself to win someone's trust. It comes from classical military strategy, so it sounds formal and literary.

noun
confidence gamefeigning self-sacrifice to win trust
Measure word · 条

Examples

  • 苦肉计，。
    Tā yòng le kǔ ròu jì, jiǎ zhuāng shòu shāng lái piàn qǔ tóng qíng.
    He used the stratagem of feigning self-sacrifice, pretending to be injured to win sympathy.
  • 苦肉计。
    Zhè ge piàn jú qí shí shì yí gè jīng diǎn de kǔ ròu jì.
    This scam is actually a classic confidence game.
  • 苦肉计，。
    Duì shǒu shí pò le wǒ men de kǔ ròu jì, jì huà shī bài le.
    The opponent saw through our self-sacrifice trick, and the plan failed.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

苦肉
苦kǔto make suffer肉ròuflesh
动宾Verb + object
计jìplan

A plan built on making one's own flesh suffer: self-inflicted pain is used to win trust.

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
艸艸cǎograss
Sound part声符shēngfú
古
古gǔ苦kǔ
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The top 艸 shows grass or plants, matching the sense of bitter plants. The bottom 古 gives the sound.

Open 苦 →

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

The original shape of 肉 showed ribs of an animal’s torso, or simply a slice of meat.

Open 肉 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 計; 计 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 計 pairs 言 (say) with 十 (all). The simplified 计 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the historical shape.

Open 计 →

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