破釜沉舟

Chinese

	to break; to split; broken to break; to split; broken; damaged; worn out	kettle; caldron	submerge; immerse; sink submerge; immerse; sink; deep; profound; to lower; to drop	boat
trad. (破釜沉舟)	破	釜	沉	舟
simp. ^#(破釜沉舟)	破	釜	沉	舟
Literally: “break the (cooking) pots and sink the boat”.

Etymology

In reference to an incident which occurred during the Battle of Julu:

項羽乃悉引兵渡河，皆沈船，破釜甑，燒廬舍，持三日糧，以示士卒必死，無一還心。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]

项羽乃悉引兵渡河，皆沉船，破釜甑，烧庐舍，持三日粮，以示士卒必死，无一还心。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: The Records of the Grand Historian, by Sima Qian, c. 91 BCE

Xiàng Yǔ nǎi xī yǐn bīng dù Hé, jiē chén chuán, pò fǔ zèng, shāo lúshè, chí sān rì liáng, yǐ shì shìzú bì sǐ, wú yī huán xīn. [Pinyin]

Thus Xiang Yu led his entire army across the River He (i.e. the Yellow River). He had all the boats sunk, the caldrons and clay boilers broken, and the camp lodgings burned. He further ordered that only three days' provisions should be carried. With these measures, he showed that every man was now ready to die and none of them would entertain the very idea of returning.

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): pòfǔchénzhōu
(Zhuyin): ㄆㄛˋ ㄈㄨˇ ㄔㄣˊ ㄓㄡ
Cantonese (Jyutping): po³ fu² cam⁴ zau¹
Min Nan (POJ): phò-hú-tîm-chiu / phò͘-hú-tîm-chiu

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: pòfǔchénzhōu
  - Zhuyin: ㄆㄛˋ ㄈㄨˇ ㄔㄣˊ ㄓㄡ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: pòfǔchénjhou
  - Wade–Giles: pʻo⁴-fu³-chʻên²-chou¹
  - Yale: pwò-fǔ-chén-jōu
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: pohfuuchernjou
  - Palladius: пофучэньчжоу (pofučɛnʹčžou)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /pʰwɔ⁵¹ fu²¹⁴⁻²¹¹ ʈ͡ʂʰən³⁵ ʈ͡ʂoʊ̯⁵⁵/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
  - Jyutping: po³ fu² cam⁴ zau¹
  - Yale: po fú chàhm jāu
  - Cantonese Pinyin: po³ fu² tsam⁴ dzau¹
  - Guangdong Romanization: po³ fu² cem⁴ zeo¹
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /pʰɔː³³ fuː³⁵ t͡sʰɐm²¹ t͡sɐu̯⁵⁵/
Min Nan
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, General Taiwanese)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: phò-hú-tîm-chiu
  - Tâi-lô: phò-hú-tîm-tsiu
  - Phofsit Daibuun: phoirhw'dimciw
  - IPA (Taipei): /pʰo¹¹⁻⁵³ hu⁵³ tim²⁴⁻¹¹ t͡ɕiu⁴⁴/
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /pʰɤ²¹⁻⁴¹ hu⁴¹ tim²³⁻³³ t͡ɕiu⁴⁴/
  - IPA (Xiamen): /pʰo²¹⁻⁵³ hu⁵³ tim²⁴⁻²² t͡ɕiu⁴⁴/
- (Hokkien: Quanzhou)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: phò͘-hú-tîm-chiu
  - Tâi-lô: phòo-hú-tîm-tsiu
  - Phofsit Daibuun: phorhw'dimciw
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /pʰɔ⁴¹⁻⁵⁵⁴ hu⁵⁵⁴ tim²⁴⁻²² t͡ɕiu³³/

Idiom

破釜沉舟

to burn one's boats; to cross the Rubicon; to reach the point of no return