斩草除根

斬草除根

zhǎncǎo-chúgēn

idiom HSK 7 #24,118

Meanings

1 to cut the weeds and pull out the roots
2 to eradicate completely; to nip in the bud

Characters

to chop; to cut

to remove; to eliminate

Literally 'chop the weeds, dig out the roots' — if you only cut the surface, they'll grow back.

Examples

要彻底解决问题，必须斩草除根。

Yào chèdǐ jiějué wèntí, bìxū zhǎncǎo-chúgēn.

To thoroughly solve the problem, you must root it out completely.

对待腐败要斩草除根。

Duìdài fǔbài yào zhǎncǎo-chúgēn.

Corruption must be eradicated completely.

Tips

culture

This idiom comes from the Zuozhuan (左传), a historical text from around 400 BC. It was originally political advice: when you defeat an enemy, make sure they can't come back. In Chinese martial arts novels, villains love saying 斩草除根 before attempting to wipe out a hero's family.

Stroke Order

斩 zhǎn

草 cǎo

除 chú

根 gēn