知己知彼,百战不殆
Zhī jǐ zhī bǐ, bǎi zhàn bú dài.
Translation: If you know yourself and know the enemy, you can face 100 battles and not be in danger.
Meaning: To succeed, you need to know both your own and your opponents’ strong points and weak points well.
Source
This saying comes from The Art of War (Sūnzǐ bīng fǎ 孙子兵法). This book about military strategies is attributed to Sunzi 孙子, who lived during the late Spring and Autumn period (770 BCE–476 BCE).
Vocabulary
| Character | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 知 | zhī | to know (V) |
| 己 | jǐ | yourself (N) |
| 彼 | bǐ | the enemy; them (N) |
| 百 | bǎi | hundred (Nu) |
| 战 | zhàn | battle (N), to fight (V) |
| 不 | bù | no, not (Adv) |
| 殆 | dài | to be in danger (V) |
Examples
知己知彼,百战不殆。面对日益激烈的竞 争,公司领导不但要发展自己,也要关注竞 争对手的发展状况。
If you know yourself and know the enemy, you can face 100 battles and not be in danger. So, when facing strong competitors, the leaders of a company should not only focus on their own company’s development, they should also pay attention to their competitors’ development.
