内忧外患

內憂外患

nèiyōuwàihuàn

idiom

Meanings

1 troubles at home and dangers from abroad
2 beset by internal strife and external aggression
3 crises on every side

Characters

inner; internal

outer; external

calamity; menace

Examples

晚清政府面临严重的内忧外患。

Wǎn Qīng zhèngfǔ miànlín yánzhòng de nèi yōu wài huàn.

The late Qing government faced severe troubles both at home and abroad.

公司内忧外患,几乎到了崩溃的边缘。

Gōngsī nèi yōu wài huàn, jīhū dào le bēngkuì de biānyuán.

The company is beset within and without, nearly at the point of collapse.

面对内忧外患,国家需要团结一致。

Miànduì nèi yōu wài huàn, guójiā xūyào tuánjié yízhì.

In the face of crises on every side, the nation must unite.

Tips

history

From 《管子·戒》: '君外舍而不鼎馈,非有内忧,必有外患' — 'when a ruler lodges abroad without feasts, if it is not inner trouble it must be outer danger'. The Warring States text 《管子》 coined the pairing.

register

Formal, common in history writing, political commentary, and business analysis. The two halves 内忧 + 外患 can appear separately (e.g. '没有内忧,却有外患').

Stroke Order

内 nèi

忧 yōu

外 wài

患 huàn