人为刀俎，我为鱼肉 in English ren2 wei2 dao1 zu3 , wo3 wei2 yu2 rou4 Meaning

Meanings

  • literally (word for word) to be the meat on somebody's chopping block (idiomatic expression)
  • metaphorically to be at somebody's mercy

Simplified Characters

人 为 刀 俎 ， 我 为 鱼 肉

Traditional Characters

人 為 刀 俎 ， 我 為 魚 肉

Pinyin

ren2 wei2 dao1 zu3 , wo3 wei2 yu2 rou4

Literal

Literal explanation, with pronunciation and meaning of each character.

人ren2man 为wei4as (in the capacity of) 刀dao1surname Dao 俎zu3a stand for food at sacrifice ， 我wo3I 为wei4as (in the capacity of) 鱼yu2surname Yu 肉rou4meat