以眼还眼，以牙还牙 in English yi3 yan3 huan2 yan3 , yi3 ya2 huan2 ya2 Meaning

Meanings

  • an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth (idiomatic expression)
  • metaphorically to use the enemy's methods against him
  • to give somebody a taste of his own medicine

Simplified Characters

以 眼 还 眼 ， 以 牙 还 牙

Traditional Characters

以 眼 還 眼 ， 以 牙 還 牙

Pinyin

yi3 yan3 huan2 yan3 , yi3 ya2 huan2 ya2

Literal

Literal explanation, with pronunciation and meaning of each character.

以yi3old variant of 以[yi3] 眼yan3eye 还hai2surname Huan 眼yan3eye ， 以yi3old variant of 以[yi3] 牙ya2tooth 还hai2surname Huan 牙ya2tooth