失之东隅 — “To suffer a loss or setback in one area or at one point”
失之东隅 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to suffer a loss or setback in one area or at one point”. To lose at the beginning. Literally, “Lose at the eastern corner”.
失之东隅 Pronunciation and Pinyin
失之东隅 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 失之东隅
Origin and Story of 失之东隅
In the early Eastern Han Dynasty, Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu dispatched his generals Feng Yi and Deng Yu to suppress the Red Eyebrow peasant uprising army.
Deng Yu unfortunately suffered heavy losses after engaging the rebels.
Feng Yi, however, ordered his troops to strengthen their defenses, gather scattered soldiers, and also sent troops disguised as Red Eyebrow rebels to infiltrate their ranks. As a result, Feng Yi achieved a great victory.
The imperial court issued a document commending their battle, describing it as 'lost at dawn, gained at dusk,' referring to the initial setback followed by a subsequent success.
Idioms Related to 失之东隅
Antonyms of 失之东隅
More idioms starting with 失
- shī失zhī之dōng东yú隅，，shōu收zhī之sāng桑yú榆lose in one place, gain in another
- shī失zhī之jiāo交bì臂miss a golden opportunity
- shī失zhī之qiān千lǐ里，，chà差ruò若háo毫lí厘A tiny error leads to a huge divergence
- shī失zhī之háo毫lí厘，，chā差zhī之qiān千lǐ里A small error leads to a huge mistake
- shī失zhī之háo毫lí厘，，chà差yǐ以qiān千lǐ里A small error leads to a huge mistake
- shī失zhī之háo毫lí厘，，miù谬yǐ以qiān千lǐ里A small error leads to a huge mistake
- shī失zhāng张mào冒shì势act rashly and impetuously
- shī失zhāng张shī失zhì志flustered and disoriented
- shī失zhāng张shī失zhì智utterly flustered and disoriented
- shī失zhāng张shī失zhì致flustered and disoriented
- shī失jīng惊dǎo倒guài怪make a fuss over nothing
- shī失jīng惊dǎ打guài怪make a fuss over a trifle
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Open the tool →Questions about 失之东隅
What does 失之东隅 mean?
失之东隅 (shī zhī dōng yú) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to suffer a loss or setback in one area or at one point”.
How do you pronounce 失之东隅?
失之东隅 is pronounced shī zhī dōng yú in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 失之东隅 literally mean?
Literally, 失之东隅 means “Lose at the eastern corner”. It is used to mean “to suffer a loss or setback in one area or at one point”.
Where does 失之东隅 come from?
失之东隅 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 失之东隅?
东隅：日出的地方。比喻这个时候遭到损失或失败。