殺敵一千，自損八百

Chinese

to kill the enemy one thousand
from; self; oneself
from; self; oneself; since
 
to damage; injure; to lose
to damage; injure; to lose; to harm
 
 eight hundred
trad. (殺敵一千，自損八百) 殺敵 一千 ， 自 損 八百
simp. (杀敌一千，自损八百) 杀敌 一千 ， 自 损 八百
alternative forms 殺敵一千自損八百／杀敌一千自损八百
Literally: “To kill one thousand enemy soldiers while one loses eight hundred soldiers”.

Etymology

Originally 殺人一萬，自損三千, which had been a common proverb in the ancient times. The earliest attestation is in 1180, as《道德真經四子古道集解》Volume VII quoted Wenzi. This eight characters cannot be found in the current version of Wenzi.

Pronunciation

  • Mandarin
    (Pinyin): shādí yīqiān, zì sǔn bābǎi
    (Zhuyin): ㄕㄚ ㄉㄧˊ ㄧ ㄑㄧㄢ , ㄗˋ ㄙㄨㄣˇ ㄅㄚ ㄅㄞˇ
  • Cantonese (Jyutping): saat3 dik6 jat1 cin1, zi6 syun2 baat3 baak3
  • Mandarin
    • (Standard Chinese)+
      • Hanyu Pinyin: shādí yīqiān, zì sǔn bābǎi [Phonetic: shādí yìqiān, zì sǔn bābǎi]
      • Zhuyin: ㄕㄚ ㄉㄧˊ ㄧ ㄑㄧㄢ , ㄗˋ ㄙㄨㄣˇ ㄅㄚ ㄅㄞˇ
      • Tongyong Pinyin: shadí yician, zìh sǔn babǎi
      • Wade–Giles: sha1-ti2 i1-chʻien1, tzŭ4 sun3 pa1-pai3
      • Yale: shā-dí yī-chyān-, dz̀ swǔn bā-bǎi
      • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shadyi ichian, tzyh soen babae
      • Palladius: шади ицянь, цзы сунь бабай (šadi icjanʹ, czy sunʹ babaj)
      • Sinological IPA (key): /ʂä⁵⁵ ti³⁵ i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ t͡ɕʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ t͡sz̩⁵¹ su̯ən²¹⁴⁻²¹ pä⁵⁵ paɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
  • Cantonese

Idiom

殺敵一千，自損八百

  1. synonym of 傷敵一千，自損八百 / 伤敌一千，自损八百 (shāng dí yīqiān, zì sǔn bābǎi, “to inflict damage on the enemy while one's own side suffers a smaller but comparable level of damage”)
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