孤注一掷

孤注一擲

gūzhù-yīzhì

idiom #16,043

Meanings

1 to stake everything on one throw; to put all one's eggs in one basket
2 to make a desperate gamble

Characters

alone; solitary

stake; bet; to pour

to throw; to toss

Examples

HSK 4

在最后一局，他孤注一掷赢了比赛。

Zài zuìhòu yī jú, tā gūzhù-yīzhì yíng le bǐsài.

In the final round, he made a desperate gamble and won the match.

HSK 7-9

他决定孤注一掷，把全部积蓄投入这个项目。

Tā juédìng gūzhù-yīzhì, bǎ quánbù jīxù tóurù zhège xiàngmù.

He decided to stake everything on this project, investing all his savings.

Tips

history

Literally 'a lone bet, one throw' - from gambling. 注 means a stake/bet, 掷 means to throw (dice). The idiom describes risking everything on a single attempt with no backup plan.

Stroke Order

孤 gū

注 zhù

一 yī

掷 zhì