因势利导

因勢利導
yīnshìlìdǎo
idiom #74,492

Meanings

  1. 1 to guide something along the direction of its momentum
  2. 2 to make the best of the situation
  3. 3 to channel trends to one's advantage

Examples

Lǎoshī yào yīnshìlìdǎo, jīfā xuéshēng de xìngqù.
A teacher should guide students along their natural interests to spark enthusiasm.
Zhèngfǔ yīngdāng yīnshìlìdǎo, cùjìn xīnxīng chǎnyè de fāzhǎn.
The government should work with the trend to promote the growth of emerging industries.
Tā shànyú yīnshìlìdǎo, bǎ wēijī biànchéng le jīhuì.
He is skilled at steering with the current and turned the crisis into an opportunity.

Tips

history
From Sima Qian's 《·孙子》 about Sun Bin: — 'the skilled warrior takes the enemy's momentum and turns it to his own advantage.' Sun Bin defeated Pang Juan by exploiting Pang's own aggressive impulse.
usage
Neutral-to-positive; about working with momentum rather than against it. Common in management, education, and policy contexts.

Stroke Order

yīn
shì
dǎo