四面楚歌

sìmiànchǔgē
idiom #50,168

Meanings

  1. 1 to be besieged on all sides; surrounded by enemies with no way out
  2. 2 isolated and without help

Examples

Gōngsī chǒuwén pùguāng hòu, lǎobǎn xiànrù le sìmiànchǔgē de jìngdì.
After the company scandal broke, the boss found himself besieged on all sides.
Tā dézuì le suǒyǒu tóngshì, xiànzài kěwèi sìmiànchǔgē.
He's offended every colleague; now he's truly isolated with enemies everywhere.

Tips

history
From 《·》: Xiang Yu's army was trapped at Gaixia; at night he heard Han soldiers singing songs of his native Chu from all directions and believed Chu had fallen. He despaired, and the phrase has meant 'surrounded by enemies' ever since.

Stroke Order

miàn
chǔ