肩摩毂击 — “Describes a bustling and crowded scene”

肩摩毂击 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “describes a bustling and crowded scene”. Typically on streets or public places, where people are so numerous that their shoulders rub against each other, and vehicles are so abundant that their wheel hubs might touch. Literally, “shoulders rubbing, wheel hubs striking”.

Frequency

肩摩毂击 Pronunciation and Pinyin

肩摩毂击 Character Breakdown

Stroke Order

Character	Pinyin	Strokes	Meaning
肩	jiān	8	shoulder
摩	mó	15	rub, chafe, or touch
毂	gǔ	13	wheel hub or capital city
击	jī	5	strike, hit, or beat

Example Sentence with 肩摩毂击

春节期间，各大商场里人潮涌动，真是肩摩毂击。

During the Spring Festival, major shopping malls were teeming with people, a truly jostling crowd where shoulders rubbed and wheels bumped.

Origin and Story of 肩摩毂击

During the Warring States period, the eloquent persuader Su Qin traveled to the State of Qi to convince King Xuan of Qi to form an alliance against the powerful State of Qin.

Su Qin argued: 'The city of Linzi alone boasts 70,000 households, and each is capable of contributing three able-bodied men to the army. Our land is exceedingly wealthy and populous. The streets are so packed with people and carriages that shoulders rub against shoulders and wheel hubs strike against wheel hubs. When everyone raises their sleeves, they form a vast canopy, and the sweat they shed could fall like rain. With such formidable strength, how could we ever be expected to yield to the State of Qin?'