不是鱼死就是网破 bù shì yú sǐ jiù shì wǎng pò

DEFINITIONS

  1. lit. either the fish dies or the net gets torn (idiom)
  2. fig. it's a life-and-death struggle
  3. it's either him or me

CHARACTERS

不 bù
HSK 1
no, not; un-; negative prefix
是 shì
HSK 1
indeed, yes, right; to be; demonstrative pronoun, this, that
鱼 yú
HSK 2
fish; surname; KangXi radical 195
死 sǐ
HSK 4
die; dead; death
就 jiù
HSK 2
just, simply; to come, go to; to approach, near
是 shì
HSK 1
indeed, yes, right; to be; demonstrative pronoun, this, that
网 wǎng
HSK 3
net; network; KangXi radical 122
破 pò
HSK 4
break, ruin, destroy; rout