坐山观虎斗 in English zuo4 shan1 guan1 hu3 dou4 Meaning

Meanings

  • sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight
  • watch in safety whilst others fight then reap the rewards when both sides are exhausted (idiomatic expression)

Simplified Characters

坐 山 观 虎 斗

Traditional Characters

坐 山 觀 虎 鬥

Pinyin

zuo4 shan1 guan1 hu3 dou4

Literal

Literal explanation, with pronunciation and meaning of each character.

坐zuo4surname Zuo 山shan1surname Shan 观guan1surname Guan 虎hu3tiger 斗dou4abbr. for the Big Dipper constellation 北斗星[Bei3 dou3 xing1]