招兵买马

招兵買馬

zhāobīngmǎimǎ

idiom #38,132

Meanings

1 to recruit soldiers and buy horses (idiom)
2 to build up a force; to recruit staff; to staff up

Characters

Examples

这家创业公司正在大力招兵买马。

Zhè jiā chuàngyè gōngsī zhèngzài dàlì zhāobīngmǎimǎ.

This startup is aggressively staffing up.

他打算自立门户，先招兵买马。

Tā dǎsuàn zìlì ménhù, xiān zhāobīngmǎimǎ.

He plans to strike out on his own and assemble a team first.

Tips

history

From 《三国演义》 ch. 28 — Liu Bei 'sets up camp in Runan to recruit troops and horses (招兵买马), biding his time to advance.' Now metaphorical for any organization building up its workforce.

Stroke Order

招 zhāo

兵 bīng

买 mǎi

马 mǎ