背水一战 (bèi shuǐ yī zhàn) — to fight with one's back against the wall; a desperate struggle; do-or-die effort

Definition

A chengyu meaning a desperate, do-or-die fight with no retreat. From the historical story of a general who positioned his troops with their backs to a river, so defeat meant death.

idiom
to fight with one's back against the walla desperate struggledo-or-die effort

Examples

  • ，背水一战。
    Wǒ men yǐ jīng méi yǒu tuì lù le, zhǐ néng bèi shuǐ yī zhàn.
    We have no way back; we can only fight with our backs against the wall.
  • 背水一战，。
    Zhè chǎng bǐ sài duì qiú duì lái shuō shì bèi shuǐ yī zhàn, shū le jiù táo tài.
    This match is a do-or-die situation for the team — lose and you're out.
  • ，背水一战，。
    Gōng sī miàn lín pò chǎn, tā jué dìng bèi shuǐ yī zhàn, tóu rù quán bù zī jīn.
    The company was facing bankruptcy, so he decided to make a desperate move and invest all his capital.

Origin

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
月Written in full as肉ròumeat
Sound part声符shēngfú
北
北běi背bèi
Same sound today

背 was first written as 北; 北 gives the sound, and 肉 (meat, written as 月 here) was added to separate it from 北’s north meaning.

Open 背 →

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

水 is a simple drawing of water flowing.

Open 水 →

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

一 is drawn as one horizontal stroke, marking the number one.

Open 一 →

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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