三军可夺帅也 (sānjūnkěduóshuàiyě): the commander of three armies can be captured

Meanings

1 the commander of three armies can be captured
2 even a whole army can lose its general — but a common person's will cannot be taken from them (first half of the saying)

Characters

三

(classical final particle)

Examples

古人说三军可夺帅也，匹夫不可夺志也，说的就是意志的力量。

Gǔrén shuō sān jūn kě duó shuài yě, pǐfū bù kě duó zhì yě, shuō de jiù shì yìzhì de lìliàng.

The ancients said 'an army can lose its general, but an ordinary person cannot be robbed of their will' — it's about the power of resolve.

他引用三军可夺帅也来激励队员坚持到底。

Tā yǐnyòng sān jūn kě duó shuài yě lái jīlì duìyuán jiānchí dào dǐ.

He quoted 'even an army can lose its commander' to urge his teammates to hold on.

Tips

history

From 《论语·子罕》 (Analects, Book IX). Confucius said: 三军可夺帅也，匹夫不可夺志也 — 'The commander of three armies may be taken captive, but the will of even a common man cannot be wrested away.' A classic statement of inner resolve.

usage

Almost always quoted with its second half 匹夫不可夺志也 — the first half only sets up the contrast. 夺 here means 'to wrest away / to take by force,' not just 'seize.'