置之死地而后生 in English zhi4 zhi1 si3 di4 er2 hou4 sheng1 Meaning

Meanings

  • place somebody on a field of death and he will fight to live (idiomatic expression based on Sunzi's "The Art of War" 孫子兵法|孙子兵法[Sun1 zi3 Bing1 fa3]); to fight desperately when confronting mortal danger
  • metaphorically to find a way out of an impasse

Simplified Characters

置 之 死 地 而 后 生

Traditional Characters

置 之 死 地 而 後 生

Pinyin

zhi4 zhi1 si3 di4 er2 hou4 sheng1

Literal

Literal explanation, with pronunciation and meaning of each character.

置zhi4to install 之zhi1(possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的[de5]) 死si3to die 地di4-ly 而er2and 后hou4surname Hou 生sheng1to be born