田忌赛马

田忌賽馬

TiánJìsàimǎ

idiom

Meanings

1 Tian Ji races his horses (idiom)
2 to win overall by accepting one loss in exchange for two strategic wins
3 outsmart a stronger opponent through clever matchup

Characters

Ji (given name)

to race; compete

Examples

我们应该用田忌赛马的策略来打这场比赛。

Wǒmen yīnggāi yòng Tián Jì sài mǎ de cèlüè lái dǎ zhè chǎng bǐsài.

We should use a 'Tian Ji races his horses' strategy for this match.

面对强敌，他用田忌赛马的方法以弱胜强。

Miànduì qiángdí, tā yòng Tián Jì sài mǎ de fāngfǎ yǐ ruò shèng qiáng.

Facing a strong opponent, he used the 'Tian Ji races his horses' approach to win as the underdog.

Tips

history

From 《史记·孙子吴起列传》 (Records of the Grand Historian). The general Tian Ji of Qi was losing horse races to the king. Strategist Sun Bin advised: race your worst horse against his best (lose), your best against his middle (win), your middle against his worst (win). Net result: 2-1 victory. Now used for any 'allocate your strong assets where they win' tactic.

In Pop Culture

孙膑 Sūn Bìn

Sun Bin

4th century BCE military strategist who devised the matchup; descendant of Sunzi (孙子).

Stroke Order

田 tián

忌 jì

赛 sài

马 mǎ