各自为战 (gè zì wéi zhàn) — each fights for oneself / lack of cooperation or unified action

Definition

An idiom for a group where each side fights alone with no coordination or shared plan — typically used to criticize the resulting inefficiency or defeat.

idiom
each fights for oneself / lack of cooperation or unified action

Examples

  • 各自为战，。
    Zhè ge tuán duì gè zì wéi zhàn, hěn nán wán chéng dà xiàng mù.
    This team each fights for themselves; it's hard to complete big projects.
  • 各自为战，。
    Qǐ yè gè bù mén gè zì wéi zhàn, dǎo zhì zī yuán làng fèi.
    Departments in the company each fight their own battle, leading to wasted resources.
  • ，各自为战，。
    Zhàn zhēng shí qī, rú guǒ jūn duì gè zì wéi zhàn, hěn róng yì bèi jī bài.
    During wartime, if the army units each fight separately, they are easily defeated.

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.

各自each person
各gèeach自zìself
偏正Modifier + head
为战wage a fight
为wèido/wage战zhànfight
动宾Verb + object

各自 means each person, and 为战 means wage a fight; together they say each acts only for their own battle.

Characters in this word

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

各 shows a sole of a foot (夂) coming into an entrance (口), for the sense of coming or entering.

Open 各 →

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

假借jiǎjièLater borrowed for its sound alone — the picture has nothing to do with today’s meaning.

自 originally drew a nose. It was borrowed purely for its sound to write 自, so the picture and the meaning are unrelated.

Open 自 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 為; 为 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 為 showed a hand holding an elephant; the simplified 为 is a later shorthand.

Open 为 →

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
戈戈gē
Sound part声符shēngfú
占
占zhàn战zhàn
Same sound today

战 pairs 占, which gives its sound, with 戈, a weapon.

Open 战 →

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