兵來將擋，水來土掩 bīng lái jiàng dǎng ， shuǐ lái tǔ yǎn

to adopt measures appropriate to the actual situation

Word data

HSK Not in HSK
Frequency Unknown

Definitions

  1. 1. to adopt measures appropriate to the actual situation
  2. 2. counter soldiers with arms, water with an earth weir (idiom); different situations call for different action

Characters

Character Meaning
兵 bīng HSK 5
soldiers; military; weapons
來 lái
to come; to arrive; next
將 jiàng
will; shall
擋 dǎng
to obstruct; to hinder; to get in the way of
水 shuǐ HSK 1
water; liquid; beverage
來 lái
to come; to arrive; next
土 tǔ HSK 5
earth; clay; local
掩 yǎn HSK 6
to cover up; to close; to surprise