知己知彼
zhī jǐ zhī bǐ
Pinyin

Definition

知己知彼
 - 
zhī jǐ zhī bǐ
  1. know yourself, know your enemy (idiom, from Sunzi's "The Art of War" 孫子兵法|孙子兵法[Sūn zǐ Bīng fǎ])

Character Decomposition

Related Words (20)

知道
zhī dào
  1. 1 to know
  2. 2 to become aware of
  3. 3 also pr. [zhī dao]
自己
zì jǐ
  1. 1 oneself
  2. 2 one's own
不知不觉
bù zhī bù jué
  1. 1 unconsciously
  2. 2 unwittingly
不知所措
bù zhī suǒ cuò
  1. 1 not knowing what to do (idiom); at one's wits' end
  2. 2 embarrassed and at a complete loss
告知
gào zhī
  1. 1 to inform
己
jǐ
  1. 1 self
  2. 2 oneself
  3. 3 sixth of the ten Heavenly Stems 十天干[shí tiān gān]
  4. 4 sixth in order
  5. 5 letter "F" or Roman "VI" in list "A, B, C", or "I, II, III" etc
  6. 6 hexa
彼此
bǐ cǐ
  1. 1 each other
  2. 2 one another
得知
dé zhī
  1. 1 to find out
  2. 2 to know
  3. 3 to learn about
明知
míng zhī
  1. 1 to be fully aware of
  2. 2 to know perfectly well
无知
wú zhī
  1. 1 ignorant
  2. 2 ignorance
知
zhī
  1. 1 to know
  2. 2 to be aware
知名
zhī míng
  1. 1 well-known
  2. 2 famous
知己
zhī jǐ
  1. 1 to know oneself
  2. 2 to be intimate or close
  3. 3 intimate friend
知心
zhī xīn
  1. 1 caring
  2. 2 intimate
知识
zhī shi
  1. 1 knowledge
  2. 2 CL:門|门[mén]
  3. 3 intellectual
知足
zhī zú
  1. 1 content with one's situation
  2. 2 to know contentment (hence happiness)
通知
tōng zhī
  1. 1 to notify
  2. 2 to inform
  3. 3 notice
  4. 4 notification
  5. 5 CL:個|个[gè]
一问三不知
yī wèn sān bù zhī
  1. 1 lit. to reply "don't know" whatever the question (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. absolutely no idea of what's going on
  3. 3 complete ignorance
一己
yī jǐ
  1. 1 oneself
一望而知
yī wàng ér zhī
  1. 1 to be evident at a glance (idiom)

Idioms (20)

一问三不知
yī wèn sān bù zhī
  1. 1 lit. to reply "don't know" whatever the question (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. absolutely no idea of what's going on
  3. 3 complete ignorance
一望而知
yī wàng ér zhī
  1. 1 to be evident at a glance (idiom)
一无所知
yī wú suǒ zhī
  1. 1 not knowing anything at all (idiom); completely ignorant
  2. 2 without an inkling
一知半解
yī zhī bàn jiě
  1. 1 lit. to know one and understand half (idiom); a smattering of knowledge
  2. 2 dilettante
  3. 3 amateur
一叶知秋
yī yè zhī qiū
  1. 1 lit. the falling of one leaf heralds the coming of autumn (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. a small sign can indicate a great trend
  3. 3 a straw in the wind
不分彼此
bù fēn bǐ cǐ
  1. 1 to make no distinction between what's one's own and what's another's (idiom)
  2. 2 to share everything
  3. 3 to be on very intimate terms
不当家不知柴米贵
bù dāng jiā bù zhī chái mǐ guì
  1. 1 a person who doesn't manage a household would not be aware how expensive it is (idiom)
不知丁董
bù zhī Dīng Dǒng
  1. 1 forgetting the fate of Ding and Dong (idiom)
  2. 2 unheeding the lessons of the past
不知好歹
bù zhī hǎo dǎi
  1. 1 unable to differentiate good from bad (idiom)
  2. 2 not to know what's good for one
  3. 3 unable to recognize others' good intentions
不知所措
bù zhī suǒ cuò
  1. 1 not knowing what to do (idiom); at one's wits' end
  2. 2 embarrassed and at a complete loss
不知死活
bù zhī sǐ huó
  1. 1 to act recklessly (idiom)
不知轻重
bù zhī qīng zhòng
  1. 1 lit. not knowing what's important (idiom); no appreciation of the gravity of things
  2. 2 naive
  3. 3 doesn't know who's who
  4. 4 no sense of priorities
不知进退
bù zhī jìn tuì
  1. 1 not knowing when to come or leave (idiom); with no sense of propriety
事不关己
shì bù guān jǐ
  1. 1 a matter of no concern to oneself (idiom)
事不关己，高高挂起
shì bù guān jǐ , gāo gāo guà qǐ
  1. 1 to feel unconcerned and let matters rest (idiom)
人在江湖，身不由己
rén zài jiāng hú , shēn bù yóu jǐ
  1. 1 you can't always do as you like
  2. 2 one has to compromise in this world (idiom)
他乡遇故知
tā xiāng yù gù zhī
  1. 1 meeting an old friend in a foreign place (idiom)
克己复礼
kè jǐ fù lǐ
  1. 1 restrain yourself and return to the rites (idiom, from Analects); to subdue self and observe proprieties
  2. 2 (any number of possible translations)
克己奉公
kè jǐ fèng gōng
  1. 1 self-restraint and devotion to public duties (idiom); selfless dedication
  2. 2 to serve the public interest wholeheartedly
只知其一，不知其二
zhǐ zhī qí yī , bù zhī qí èr
  1. 1 to know the first, but not know the second (idiom); only partial information

Sample Sentences

是呀，不论是商业谈判还是与人交往，“知己知彼”是成功的前提。
shì ya ，bùlùn shì shāngyè tánpàn háishi yǔ rén jiāowǎng ，“zhījǐzhībǐ ”shì chénggōng de qiántí 。
Yes, whether it is business negotiations or dealing with people, "knowing ourselves and knowing each other" is the prerequisite for success.
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别气急败坏亲爱的，我当然也不希望我们家老王在外面拈花惹草的，可歇斯底里解决不了问题，得冷静分析，所谓，知己知彼、百战不殆嘛。
bié qìjíbàihuài qīn ài de ，wǒ dāngrán yě bù xīwàng wǒmen jiā Lǎo Wáng zài wàimian niǎnhuārěcǎo de ，kě xiēsīdǐlǐ jiějuébùliǎo wèntí ，děi lěngjìng fēnxī ，suǒwèi ，zhījǐzhībǐ 、bǎizhànbùdài ma 。
Don't get yourself into such a state, dear. Of course I don't want my hubby to sow wild oats, but getting hysterical about things isn't going to resolve the issue. You have to do a cool analysis, like that quote from the Art of War: "If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles."
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