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乘虚而入 (chéng xū ér rù) — to exploit an opponent's weakness or moment of vulnerability; to seize an opportunity to attack when the other side is off guard

Definition

Literally 'ride in through a gap.' It means exploiting an opening or weakness to make a sudden move — strategic or opportunistic, not just any 'seizing a chance.'

idiom
to exploit an opponent's weakness or moment of vulnerabilityto seize an opportunity to attack when the other side is off guard

Examples

  • ，乘虚而入，。
    Dí rén fáng shǒu sōng xiè shí, wǒ jūn chéng xū ér rù, yì jǔ gōng zhàn le zhèn dì.
    When the enemy's defense was lax, our army exploited their weakness and captured the position in one stroke.
  • 乘虚而入，。
    Zhè jiā gōng sī chèn zhe duì shǒu zī jīn kùn nan shí chéng xū ér rù, qiǎng zǒu le hěn duō kè hù.
    This company took advantage of its competitor's financial difficulties and snatched away many clients.
  • ，乘虚而入，。
    Lǎo shī zhuǎn shēn xiě zì shí, yǒu tóng xué chéng xū ér rù, tōu tōu chī le líng shí.
    When the teacher turned around to write on the board, some student took the chance to secretly eat a snack.

Origin

Characters in this word

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

乘 was drawn as a person climbing a tree, with the feet visible.

Open 乘 →

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 虛; 虚 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
丘丘qiūhill
Sound part声符shēngfú
虍
虍hū虛xū
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 虛 pairs the upper 虍, which gives the sound, with a lower part shaped like 丘, 'hill'; the simplified 虚 is a later shorthand.

Open 虚 →

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

The shape of 而 is a picture of a beard.

Open 而 →

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

入 is drawn as an arrowhead, indicating 'to enter'.

Open 入 →
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Idioms & Set Phrases

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