| 兵来将挡，水来土掩 |
bīng lái jiàng dǎng , shuǐ lái tǔ yǎn |
counter soldiers with arms, water with an earth weir (idiom); different situations call for different action / to adopt measures appropriate to the actual situation |
| 兵 |
bīng |
soldiers / a force / an army / weapons / arms / military / warlike / CL:个 |
| 来 |
lái |
to come / (used as a substitute for a more specific verb) / hither (directional complement for motion toward the speaker, as in 回来) / ever since (as in 自古以来) / for the past (amount of time) / (prefix) the coming ...; the next ... (as in 来世) / (between two verbs) in order to / (after a round number) approximately / (used after 得 to indicate possibility, as in 谈得来, or after 不 to indicate impossibility, as in 吃不来) |
| 将 |
jiāng |
will / shall / to use / to take / to checkmate / just a short while ago / (introduces object of main verb, used in the same way as 把) |
| 将 |
jiàng |
(bound form) a general / (literary) to command; to lead / (Chinese chess) general (on the black side, equivalent to a king in Western chess) |
| 将 |
qiāng |
to desire / to invite / to request |
| 挡 |
dǎng |
to resist / to obstruct / to hinder / to keep off / to block (a blow) / to get in the way of / cover / gear (e.g. in a car's transmission) |
| 挡 |
dàng |
to arrange / to put in order |
| 挡 |
dǎng |
variant of 挡 |
| 水 |
Shuǐ |
surname Shui |
| 水 |
shuǐ |
water / (after a name) ... River / to swim (used mostly in 会水 and 水性) / (coll.) lacking in substance; shoddy / (bound form) additional cost; extra income / classifier for washings of a garment |
| 来 |
lái |
to come / (used as a substitute for a more specific verb) / hither (directional complement for motion toward the speaker, as in 回来) / ever since (as in 自古以来) / for the past (amount of time) / (prefix) the coming ...; the next ... (as in 来世) / (between two verbs) in order to / (after a round number) approximately / (used after 得 to indicate possibility, as in 谈得来, or after 不 to indicate impossibility, as in 吃不来) |
| 土 |
Tǔ |
Tu (ethnic group) / surname Tu |
| 土 |
tǔ |
earth / dust / clay / local / indigenous / crude opium / unsophisticated / one of the eight categories of ancient musical instruments 八音 |
| 掩 |
yǎn |
to cover up; to conceal / to close (a door, book etc) / (coll.) to get (one's fingers etc) caught when closing a door or lid / (literary) to launch a surprise attack |