出其不意，攻其不备 in English chu1 qi2 bu4 yi4 , gong1 qi2 bu4 bei4 Meaning

Meanings

  • to catch an enemy off guard with a surprise attack (idiomatic expression, from Sunzi's "The Art of War" 孫子兵法|孙子兵法[Sun1 zi3 Bing1 fa3])

Simplified Characters

出 其 不 意 ， 攻 其 不 备

Traditional Characters

出 其 不 意 ， 攻 其 不 備

Pinyin

chu1 qi2 bu4 yi4 , gong1 qi2 bu4 bei4

Literal

Literal explanation, with pronunciation and meaning of each character.

出chu1to go out 其qi2his 不bu4(negative prefix) 意yi4Italy ， 攻gong1to attack 其qi2his 不bu4(negative prefix) 备bei4variant of 備|备[bei4]