首当其冲 (shǒu dāng qí chōng) — to be the first to bear the brunt; to be the most directly affected (by a misfortune or attack)

Definition

Literally 'head first, take the charge': the one hit hardest or earliest when something bad happens — a misfortune, policy change, or attack falls most directly on it.

idiom
to be the first to bear the bruntto be the most directly affected (by a misfortune or attack)

Examples

  • ，首当其冲。
    Zài zhè cì jīn róng wēi jī zhōng, chuán tǒng zhì zào yè shǒu dāng qí chōng shòu dào zhòng dà dǎ jī.
    During this financial crisis, traditional manufacturing bore the brunt of the heavy blow.
  • ，首当其冲，。
    Zhèng cè biàn huà hòu, xiǎo qǐ yè shǒu dāng qí chōng, jīng yíng gèng jiā kùn nan.
    After the policy change, small businesses were the first to suffer, making their operations even more difficult.
  • ，首当其冲，。
    Yì qíng bào fā shí, yī hù rén yuán shǒu dāng qí chōng, chōng zài zuì qián xiàn.
    When the pandemic broke out, medical workers bore the brunt, rushing to the front lines.

Origin

Characters in this word

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

The shape comes from an old drawing of an animal's head, showing a long mouth and horns; the version with hair became 首.

Open 首 →

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 當; 当 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
田田tiánfield
Sound part声符shēngfú
尚
尚shàng當dāng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 當 combines 田 (field) with 尚; the evidence describes fields facing each other.

Open 当 →

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

The modern form 其 comes from an early drawing of a basket, with a stand added underneath.

Open 其 →

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 衝; 冲 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 冲 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (冲, 冲动) it is 衝; in others (冲) it is 沖.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
行行xíng
Sound part声符shēngfú
重
重zhòng衝chōng
Same sound today

The traditional form 衝 shows 重 inside 行, with 行 as the meaning part and 重 as the sound part; the simplified 冲 is a later shorthand.

Open 冲 →

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