草木皆兵

cǎomùjiēbīng

idiom

Meanings

1 to see enemies everywhere
2 jumping at shadows
3 lit. every blade of grass and tree looks like a soldier

Characters

Examples

战败后他草木皆兵，听到风声就害怕。

Zhànbài hòu tā cǎo mù jiē bīng, tīng dào fēngshēng jiù hàipà.

After the defeat, he jumped at every shadow — any whisper scared him.

领导一批评他就草木皆兵，怀疑所有同事。

Lǐngdǎo yī pīpíng tā jiù cǎo mù jiē bīng, huáiyí suǒyǒu tóngshì.

One word of criticism from the boss and he saw enemies everywhere, suspecting every colleague.

疑心生暗鬼，草木皆兵。

Yíxīn shēng àn guǐ, cǎo mù jiē bīng.

Suspicion breeds phantoms — every tree and blade looks like an enemy.

Tips

history

From the 《晋书·苻坚载记》: Fu Jian, emperor of Former Qin, watched the Jin army at the Battle of Fei River (383 CE) and became convinced that every tree on Mount Bagong was an enemy soldier. His panic contributed to one of China's most famous military upsets.

culture

Same historical event gave us 风声鹤唳 ('even the wind and cranes sounded like enemies') — often paired with 草木皆兵.

Stroke Order

草 cǎo

木 mù

皆 jiē

兵 bīng