同仇敌忾

同仇敵愾

tóngchóudíkài

idiom

Meanings

1 united in hatred of a common enemy
2 shared anger against a common foe

Characters

together; shared

enemy; to oppose

righteous indignation

Examples

面对外敌入侵，全国人民同仇敌忾。

Miànduì wàidí rùqīn, quánguó rénmín tóngchóudíkài.

Facing foreign invasion, the whole nation was united in hatred of the common enemy.

球迷们同仇敌忾，一齐为主队加油。

Qiúmímen tóngchóudíkài, yìqí wèi zhǔduì jiāyóu.

The fans rallied together with shared feeling and cheered for the home team.

Tips

history

Fused from two classics: 《诗经·秦风·无衣》 "修我戈矛，与子同仇" (repair our spears, share this enemy with you) and 《左传·文公四年》 "诸侯敌王所忾" (the vassal lords share the king's indignation). 忾 (kài) here means righteous anger, not hatred in general.

mistakes

忾 is often misread as kǎi or qì. The correct reading here is kài (4th tone), a rare pronunciation preserved only in this chengyu.

Stroke Order

同 tóng

仇 chóu

敌 dí

忾 kài