| 人为刀俎，我为鱼肉 |
rén wéi dāo zǔ , wǒ wéi yú ròu |
lit. to be the meat on sb's chopping block (idiom) / fig. to be at sb's mercy |
| 人 |
rén |
person; people / CL:个,位 |
| 人为 |
rén wéi |
artificial / man-made / having human cause or origin / human attempt or effort |
| 为 |
wéi |
as (in the capacity of) / to take sth as / to act as / to serve as / to behave as / to become / to be / to do / by (in the passive voice) |
| 为 |
wèi |
because of / for / to |
| 为 |
wéi |
variant of 为 |
| 为 |
wèi |
variant of 为 |
| 刀 |
Dāo |
surname Dao |
| 刀 |
dāo |
knife / blade / single-edged sword / cutlass / CL:把 / (slang) dollar (loanword) / classifier for sets of one hundred sheets (of paper) / classifier for knife cuts or stabs |
| 刀俎 |
dāo zǔ |
sacrificial knife and altar |
| 俎 |
zǔ |
a stand for food at sacrifice |
| 我 |
wǒ |
I; me; my |
| 为 |
wéi |
as (in the capacity of) / to take sth as / to act as / to serve as / to behave as / to become / to be / to do / by (in the passive voice) |
| 为 |
wèi |
because of / for / to |
| 为 |
wéi |
variant of 为 |
| 为 |
wèi |
variant of 为 |
| 鱼 |
Yú |
surname Yu |
| 鱼 |
yú |
fish (CL:条,尾) / used in the names of various aquatic animals that are not fish (including abalone 鲍鱼, alligators and crocodiles 鳄鱼 and octopi 章鱼) |
| 鱼肉 |
yú ròu |
flesh of fish / fish and meat / (fig.) victims of oppression / (fig.) to cruelly oppress (i.e. to treat like flesh to be carved up) |
| 肉 |
ròu |
meat / flesh / pulp (of a fruit) / (coll.) (of a fruit) squashy / (of a person) flabby / irresolute / Kangxi radical 130 |