兵來將敵，水來土堰 bīng lái jiàng dí ， shuǐ lái tǔ yàn

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
敵 dí
enemy; to be a match for; to rival
水 shuǐ HSK 1
water; liquid; beverage
來 lái
to come; to arrive; next
土 tǔ HSK 5
earth; clay; local
堰 yàn
weir