出其不意,攻其不備 chū qí bù yì , gōng qí bù bèi

DEFINITIONS

  1. to catch an enemy off guard with a surprise attack (idiom, from Sunzi's "The Art of War" 孫子兵法|孙子兵法[Sun1 zi3 Bing1 fa3])

CHARACTERS

出 chū go out, send out; stand; produce
其 qí his, her, its, their; that
不 bù no, not; un-; negative prefix
意 yì thought, idea, opinion; think
攻 gōng attack, assault; criticize
其 qí his, her, its, their; that
不 bù no, not; un-; negative prefix
備 bèi prepare, ready, perfect