以夷制夷 — “To use one rival power to control another”
以夷制夷 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to use one rival power to control another”. To play off one group against another; to pit one's opponents against each other. Literally, “To use barbarians to control barbarians; to use foreign groups to check foreign groups”.
以夷制夷 Pronunciation and Pinyin
以夷制夷 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 以夷制夷
Idioms Related to 以夷制夷
Synonyms of 以夷制夷
More idioms starting with 以
- yǐ以yī一jǐng儆bǎi百punish one to warn many
- yǐ以yī一fèng奉bǎi百one producer supports a hundred consumers
- yǐ以yī一dāng当shí十fight with the strength of ten men
- yǐ以yī一dāng当bǎi百one person effective as a hundred
- yǐ以yī一chí持wàn万Grasp key to control the whole
- yǐ以yī一zhī知wàn万infer many from one
- yǐ以yī一jǐng警bǎi百punish one to warn many
- yǐ以yī一yù驭wàn万Control many by grasping the fundamental
- yǐ以bù不biàn变yìng应wàn万biàn变respond to change with no change
- yǐ以fǒu不jì济kě可help succeed by negating incorrect ideas
- yǐ以fēng丰bǔ补qiàn歉save in times of plenty for scarcity
- yǐ以wéi为kǒu口shí实provide material for criticism
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Open the tool →Questions about 以夷制夷
What does 以夷制夷 mean?
以夷制夷 (yǐ yí zhì yí) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to use one rival power to control another”.
How do you pronounce 以夷制夷?
以夷制夷 is pronounced yǐ yí zhì yí in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 以夷制夷 literally mean?
Literally, 以夷制夷 means “to use barbarians to control barbarians; to use foreign groups to check foreign groups”. It is used to mean “to use one rival power to control another”.
What is the Chinese definition of 以夷制夷?
夷：外族。利用外族和外国之间的内部矛盾，使其相互冲突，削弱其力量。