斩草除根

斬草除根

zhǎncǎo-chúgēn

idiom HSK 7-9 #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 zhǎncǎochúgēn.

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

对待腐败要斩草除根。

Duìdài fǔbài yào zhǎncǎochúgēn.

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