腹背受敌 (fù bèi shòu dí) — to be attacked from both front and rear; to be caught between two fires; to face threats on all sides

Definition

Chengyu meaning under attack from both front and back, used for a person, army, or organization trapped between threats on all sides.

idiom
to be attacked from both front and rearto be caught between two firesto face threats on all sides

Examples

  • 腹背受敌，，。
    Zhè jiā gōng sī xiàn zài fù bèi shòu dí, jì yào yìng duì jià gé zhàn, yòu yào chǔ lǐ zī jīn duǎn quē.
    This company is now under attack from both sides: it has to deal with a price war as well as a cash shortage.
  • ，腹背受敌。
    Zài qiú chǎng shàng, fù bèi shòu dí de fáng shǒu ràng tā hěn nán fā huī.
    On the field, the defense attacking him from all sides made it very hard for him to perform.
  • ，腹背受敌，。
    Lì shǐ shàng, zhè zhī jūn duì fù bèi shòu dí, zuì zhōng bèi pò chè tuì.
    Historically, this army was attacked from front and rear and was eventually forced to retreat.

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.

腹背belly and back
腹fùbelly背bèiback
联合Side by side
受敌receive enemy
受shòureceive敌díenemy
动宾Verb + object

腹 and 背 mean belly and back; 受 and 敌 mean receive and enemy, so attacks come from front and rear.

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
肉肉ròumeat; flesh
Sound part声符shēngfú
复
复fù腹⁰fù
Same sound today

The left part 肉, meaning flesh, shows this is a body part, and the right part 复 gives the sound.

Open 腹 →

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 →

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

受 possibly combines 爪 and 又 as hands with 舟 as a boat, to show handing something over.

Open 受 →

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 敵; 敌 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
攴攴pūto tap; to hit
Sound part声符shēngfú
啻
啻chì敵dí
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 敵 pairs 啻 as a sound part with 攴, a part for tapping or hitting.

Open 敌 →

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