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趁火打劫

chènhuǒ-dǎjié
idiom #36,495

Meanings

  1. 1 to loot a burning house
  2. 2 to take advantage of someone's misfortune
  3. 3 to exploit a crisis for personal gain

Examples

HSK 6
灾难发生时，绝不能有人趁火打劫。
Zāinàn fāshēng shí, juébù néng yǒurén chènhuǒ-dǎjié.
When disaster strikes, no one should be allowed to loot the burning house.
HSK 7-9
趁火打劫的行为令人不齿。
Chènhuǒ-dǎjié de xíngwéi lìngrén bùchǐ.
Taking advantage of someone in trouble is contemptible behavior.

Tips

culture
One of the famous 三十六计 (Thirty-Six Stratagems) - strategy #5: attack when the enemy is in chaos. In civilian use it's purely pejorative.

Stroke Order

趁 chèn
火 huǒ
打 dǎ
劫 jié