以夷攻夷 — “To use one adversary or group to fight against another”
以夷攻夷 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to use one adversary or group to fight against another”. To pit one side against another to achieve a strategic advantage. Literally, “Use barbarians to attack barbarians”.
以夷攻夷 Pronunciation and Pinyin
以夷攻夷 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 以夷攻夷
Idioms Related to 以夷攻夷
Synonyms of 以夷攻夷
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
Recommended tools
Stroke Order Animator
Turn a Chinese character or sentence into a GIF or MP4
Open the tool →
Bingo Cards
Picture and word Bingo for your class
Open the tool →
Chinese Text Image Generator
Create PNGs with pinyin, highlight character parts or remove strokes
Open the tool →
Picture Worksheets
Chinese and English fill-in vocabulary worksheets
Open the tool →Questions about 以夷攻夷
What does 以夷攻夷 mean?
以夷攻夷 (yǐ yí gōng yí) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to use one adversary or group to fight against another”.
How do you pronounce 以夷攻夷?
以夷攻夷 is pronounced yǐ yí gōng yí in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 以夷攻夷 literally mean?
Literally, 以夷攻夷 means “use barbarians to attack barbarians”. It is used to mean “to use one adversary or group to fight against another”.
What is the Chinese definition of 以夷攻夷?
使夷人自相攻伐。本是封建统治阶级对少数民族实行的一种民族分化政策。晚清时，亦指利用西方的科学技术来对付资本主义国家的侵略。