坐收渔利 (zuò shōu yú lì) — to profit from others' conflict without any effort

Definition

Literally 'sit and reap the fisherman's gain.' Used when a third party benefits effortlessly from a conflict between others, often in business, politics, or war.

idiom
to profit from others' conflict without any effort

Examples

  • ，坐收渔利。
    Tā men liǎng jiā gōng sī jìng zhēng, dì sān fāng què xiǎng zuò shōu yú lì.
    The two companies are competing, but a third party wants to profit from their conflict.
  • 坐收渔利。
    Nèi bù zhēng dòu ràng wài bù qǐ yè zuò shōu yú lì.
    Internal infighting let outside companies profit from the dispute.
  • ，坐收渔利，。
    Liǎng guó jiāo zhàn shí, lín guó zuò shōu yú lì, zhàn le hěn dà pián yi.
    When the two countries were at war, a neighboring country profited from their conflict and gained a great advantage.

Origin

Characters in this word

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

The form 坐 combines 留, 'to stay', and 土, 'ground'.

Open 坐 →

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
攴攴pū
Sound part声符shēngfú
丩
丩jiū收shōu
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

收 uses 攴 to show an action and 丩 as a sound clue; the old meaning was 'to arrest.'

Open 收 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 漁; 渔 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 漁 pairs 氵 (water) with 魚 (fish), and 魚 gives the sound. The simplified 渔 is a later shorthand.

Open 渔 →

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

利 combines 禾 (grain) and 刀 (knife), showing a knife used to cut grain.

Open 利 →

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