破釜沉舟 (pò fǔ chén zhōu) — to burn one's bridges; to commit irrevocably; t… | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

An idiom meaning to cut off all retreat and commit fully — stronger than 'burn one's bridges': it pictures destroying one's own cooking pots and sinking one's boats (破釜沉舟) so there is no option but to fight.

idiom

to burn one's bridgesto commit irrevocablyto go all in with no way back

Examples

破釜沉舟，。
Gōng sī jué dìng pò fǔ chén zhōu, quán lì kāi fā xīn chǎn pǐn.
The company decided to burn its bridges and go all-in on developing a new product.
破釜沉舟，。
Tā pò fǔ chén zhōu, cí diào le wěn dìng de gōng zuò qù chuàng yè.
He burned his bridges, quitting his stable job to start a business.
破釜沉舟，。
Qiú duì zài zuì hòu wǔ fēn zhōng pò fǔ chén zhōu, quán lì jìn gōng.
The team burned its bridges in the last five minutes and attacked with full force.

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.

破釜break the pots

破pòbreak釜fǔpot

动宾Verb + object

沉舟sink the boats

沉chénsink舟zhōuboat

动宾Verb + object

破釜 means break the pots and 沉舟 means sink the boats, together showing no retreat.

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.

石皮破

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

皮

皮pí破pò

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

破 has 石 (stone) as its meaning part and 皮 as its sound part.

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

金金jīnmetal

Sound part声符shēngfú

父

父fù釜fǔ

Same sound today

釜 is built from 金 (metal) for the cauldron idea and 父 for the sound.

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

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

舟 was originally a drawing of a boat.

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