知彼知己 — “Know the other, know self”
知彼知己 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to have a thorough understanding of both yourself and your opponent or situation, in order to ensure success and avoid failure; know yourself and your enemy”. Literally, “know the other, know self”.
知彼知己 Pronunciation and Pinyin
知彼知己 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 知彼知己
Origin and Story of 知彼知己
During the Spring and Autumn period, military strategist Sun Wu authored 'The Art of War'. He argued that the highest military skill was to subdue the enemy without fighting, compelling their complete surrender rather than destroying their nation through direct warfare.
He stressed the importance of employing clever strategies to achieve victory without bloodshed, emphasizing the principle of 'knowing yourself and knowing your enemy' (知彼知己) to ensure invincibility in every encounter.
Sun Wu asserted that winning every battle was not the ultimate achievement; true mastery lay in making the enemy yield without having to engage in combat at all.
Idioms Related to 知彼知己
Synonyms of 知彼知己
Antonyms of 知彼知己
More idioms starting with 知
- zhī知yī一wàn万bì毕Grasp one, comprehend all
- zhī知yī一bù不zhī知shí十know one aspect, not the whole
- zhī知yī一ér而bù不zhī知èr二know one but not two
- zhī知bù不zhà诈yú愚The wise do not deceive the foolish
- zhī知yì义duō多qíng情understanding of loyalty and full of tender feelings
- zhī知zhī之wéi为zhī知zhī之，，bù不zhī知wèi为bù不zhī知know what you know, admit what you don't
- zhī知zhī之fēi非jiān艰，，xíng行zhī之wéi惟jiān艰Knowing is easy, doing is hard
- zhī知zhī之fēi非nàn难，，xíng行zhī之bù不yì易Knowing is easy, doing is hard
- zhī知shū书míng明lǐ理cultured and reasonable
- zhī知shū书zhī知lǐ礼well-educated and well-mannered
- zhī知shū书shí识zì字educated and literate
- zhī知shū书shí识lǐ礼educated and well-mannered
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Open the tool →Questions about 知彼知己
What does 知彼知己 mean?
知彼知己 (zhī bǐ zhī jǐ) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to have a thorough understanding of both yourself and your opponent or situation, in order to ensure success and avoid failure; know yourself and your enemy”.
How do you pronounce 知彼知己?
知彼知己 is pronounced zhī bǐ zhī jǐ in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 知彼知己 literally mean?
Literally, 知彼知己 means “know the other, know self”. It is used to mean “to have a thorough understanding of both yourself and your opponent or situation, in order to ensure success and avoid failure; know yourself and your enemy”.
Where does 知彼知己 come from?
知彼知己 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 知彼知己?
原意是如果对敌我双方的情况都能了解透彻，打起仗来就可以立于不败之地。泛指对双方情况都很了解。