知己知彼，百戰不殆

Chinese

		to know yourself and know the enemy		to fight a hundred battles with no danger of defeat; to win every battle
trad. (知己知彼，百戰不殆)		知己知彼	，	百戰不殆
simp. (知己知彼，百战不殆)		知己知彼	，	百战不殆

Etymology

From The Art of War:

知彼知己，百戰不殆；不知彼而知己，一勝一負；不知彼，不知己，每戰必敗。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]

知彼知己，百战不殆；不知彼而知己，一胜一负；不知彼，不知己，每战必败。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: The Art of War, circa 5^th century BCE, translated based on Lionel Giles's version

Zhī bǐ zhī jǐ, bǎi zhàn bù dài; bù zhī bǐ ér zhī jǐ, yī shèng yī fù; bù zhī bǐ, bù zhī jǐ, měi zhàn bì bài. [Pinyin]

If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): zhījǐzhībǐ, bǎizhànbùdài
(Zhuyin): ㄓㄐㄧˇ ㄓㄅㄧˇ, ㄅㄞˇ ㄓㄢˋ ㄅㄨˋ ㄉㄞˋ
Cantonese (Jyutping): zi¹ gei² zi¹ bei², baak³ zin³ bat¹ toi⁵

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: zhījǐzhībǐ, bǎizhànbùdài [Phonetic: zhījǐzhībǐ, bǎizhànbúdài]
  - Zhuyin: ㄓㄐㄧˇ ㄓㄅㄧˇ, ㄅㄞˇ ㄓㄢˋ ㄅㄨˋ ㄉㄞˋ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: jhihjǐjhihbǐ, bǎijhànbùdài
  - Wade–Giles: chih¹-chi³-chih¹-pi³- pai³-chan⁴-pu⁴-tai⁴
  - Yale: jr̄-jǐ-jr̄-bǐ-, bǎi-jàn-bù-dài
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: jyjiijybii, baejannbuday
  - Palladius: чжицзичжиби, байчжаньбудай (čžiczičžibi, bajčžanʹbudaj)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ t͡ɕi²¹⁴⁻²¹¹ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ pi²¹⁴⁻³⁵ paɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹¹ ʈ͡ʂän⁵¹ pu⁵¹⁻³⁵ taɪ̯⁵¹/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
  - Jyutping: zi¹ gei² zi¹ bei², baak³ zin³ bat¹ toi⁵
  - Yale: jī géi jī béi, baak jin bāt tóih
  - Cantonese Pinyin: dzi¹ gei² dzi¹ bei², baak⁸ dzin³ bat⁷ toi⁵
  - Guangdong Romanization: ji¹ géi² ji¹ béi², bag³ jin³ bed¹ toi⁵
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡siː⁵⁵ kei̯³⁵ t͡siː⁵⁵ pei̯³⁵ paːk̚³ t͡siːn³³ pɐt̚⁵ tʰɔːi̯¹³/

Idiom

知己知彼，百戰不殆

Know yourself and know the enemy, and you can fight a hundred battles with no danger of defeat.

Synonyms