以其人之道,还治其人之身 yǐ qí rén zhī dào , huán zhì qí rén zhī shēn

DEFINITIONS

  1. to use an opponent's own methods to obtain retribution (idiom, from Song dynasty neo-Confucianist Zhu Xi 朱熹); to get revenge by playing sb back at his own game
  2. to give sb a taste of his own medicine

CHARACTERS

以 yǐ by means of; thereby, therefore; consider as; in order to
其 qí his, her, its, their; that
人 rén man; people; mankind; someone else
之 zhī marks preceding phrase as modifier of following phrase; it, him her, them; go to
道 dào path, road, street; method, way
还 huán still, yet, also, besides
治 zhì govern, regulate, administer
其 qí his, her, its, their; that
人 rén man; people; mankind; someone else
之 zhī marks preceding phrase as modifier of following phrase; it, him her, them; go to
身 shēn body; trunk, hull; rad. no. 158