人为刀俎，我为鱼肉
rén​wéi​dāo​zǔ​wǒ​wéi​yú​ròu

to be at someone's mercy

  • created sense approved 人为刀俎，我为鱼肉/人為刀俎，我為魚肉 · rén​wéi​dāo​zǔ​wǒ​wéi​yú​ròu · at another's mercy — "Initial import from upstream dictionary"

    人为刀俎，我为鱼肉 / 人為刀俎，我為魚肉

    rén​wéi​dāo​zǔ​wǒ​wéi​yú​ròu

    at another's mercy

    others are the knife and the cutting board, while I am the fish and meat; to be at someone's mercy or in a completely vulnerable position

    人为 (literal) → 人为/人為 · rén​wéi · human effort 刀俎 (literal) → 刀俎 · dāo​zǔ · knife and chopping block; oppressor ， (non_chinese) 我 (literal) → 我 · wǒ · I 为 (literal) → 为/為 · wéi · to be 鱼肉 (literal) → 鱼肉/魚肉 · yú​ròu · victims of oppression

    Changed: simplified, traditional, gloss, definition, pinyin, variant pinyin, variants, separable parts, decomposition

    created sense

  • created sense approved 人为刀俎，我为鱼肉/人為刀俎，我為魚肉 · rén​wéi​dāo​zǔ​wǒ​wéi​yú​ròu · to be at someone's mercy — "Initial import from upstream dictionary"

    人为刀俎，我为鱼肉 / 人為刀俎，我為魚肉

    rén​wéi​dāo​zǔ​wǒ​wéi​yú​ròu

    to be at someone's mercy

    literally translated as 'others are the knife and chopping block while I am the fish and meat'; used to describe being in a passive and dangerous position where someone else has total power over one's fate

    人 (literal) → 人 · rén · person 为 (literal) → 为/為 · wéi · to be 刀俎 (literal) → 刀俎 · dāo​zǔ · knife and chopping block; oppressor ， (non_chinese) 我 (literal) → 我 · wǒ · I 为 (literal) → 为/為 · wéi · to be 鱼肉 (literal) → 鱼肉/魚肉 · yú​ròu · victims of oppression

    Changed: simplified, traditional, gloss, definition, pinyin, variant pinyin, variants, separable parts, decomposition

    created sense