殺敵一千，自損八百

殺敵一千，自損八百

Chinese

		to kill the enemy	one thousand		from; self; oneself from; self; oneself; since	to damage; injure; to lose to damage; injure; to lose; to harm	eight hundred
trad. (殺敵一千，自損八百)		殺敵	一千	，	自	損	八百
simp. (杀敌一千，自损八百)		杀敌	一千	，	自	损	八百
alternative forms		殺敵一千自損八百／杀敌一千自损八百
Literally: “To kill one thousand enemy soldiers while one loses eight hundred soldiers”.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): shādí yīqiān, zì sǔn bābǎi

  (Zhuyin): ㄕㄚ ㄉㄧˊ ㄧ ㄑㄧㄢ, ㄗˋ ㄙㄨㄣˇ ㄅㄚ ㄅㄞˇ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): saat³ dik⁶ jat¹ cin¹, zi⁶ syun² baat³ baak³

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Pinyin: shādí yīqiān, zì sǔn bābǎi [Phonetic: shādí yìqiān, zì sǔn bābǎi]
    • Zhuyin: ㄕㄚ ㄉㄧˊ ㄧ ㄑㄧㄢ, ㄗˋ ㄙㄨㄣˇ ㄅㄚ ㄅㄞˇ
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shadyi ichian, tzyh soen babae
    • Tongyong Pinyin: shadí yician, zìh sǔn babǎi
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʂä⁵⁵ ti³⁵ i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ t͡ɕʰjɛn⁵⁵ t͡sz̩⁵¹ swən²¹⁴⁻²¹¹ pä⁵⁵ paɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
    • Jyutping: saat³ dik⁶ jat¹ cin¹, zi⁶ syun² baat³ baak³
    • Yale: saat dihk yāt chīn, jih syún baat baak
    • Cantonese Pinyin: saat⁸ dik⁹ jat⁷ tsin¹, dzi⁶ syn² baat⁸ baak⁸
    • Guangdong Romanization: sad³ dig⁶ yed¹ qin¹, ji⁶ xun² bad³ bag³
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /säːt̚³ tɪk̚² jɐt̚⁵ t͡sʰiːn⁵⁵ t͡siː²² ʃyːn³⁵ päːt̚³ päːk̚³/

Idiom

殺敵一千，自損八百

1. Synonym of 傷敵一千，自損八百／伤敌一千，自损八百 (shāng dí yīqiān, zì sǔn bābǎi, “to inflict damage on the enemy while one's own side suffers a smaller but comparable level of damage”).